Backseat With The Billionaire

by Lilah May

  “You’re lucky I didn’t tell her what you tried to do to me. Or she would never even look at you again.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I just miss you both.” Is he crying? He’s so pitiful. Definitely not a real man, let alone a real father.

  “Well, I’m sorry to say but neither of us miss you. We’ve moved on and so should you.” I hang up before he can say anything more.

  Ever since that night out with Bobby, I feel like I just woke up from a daze, from this horrible fog where you couldn’t count the seconds, and the years seem to have just slipped by. Like you couldn’t really pinpoint what you did exactly during that time.

  I feel like I can breathe again, I can feel every breath of fresh air hitting my lungs, like I’m a newborn, just starting my life and all the colors seem to pop, every tree, every blade of grass seems to hold my interest, like that first day in college where you can be whoever you want.

  I want new and exciting.

  “Hello, Mrs. Howard.”

  Now, I recognize that voice anywhere and it makes me shudder when I hear it. Definitely something new and exciting. Just something new and exciting that I couldn’t have.

  Without a suit and the impeccable hair, I get a flash of the kid who used to swim in our pool, throw bugs in our tent during camping trips, and sneak peeks over the fence while I was sunbathing.

  But that’s only a façade he’s wearing, a mask that doesn’t hide anything. He’s still just as powerful, just as dangerous. And if I let down my guard, he would swallow me whole leaving not a scrap of resistance behind.

  Even so, I want to let him take me, I want to run to him, to hold him, kiss him. But I know we can’t keep doing what we were doing, that loving each other would only end in tragedy.

  Mrs. Howard. Not Lisa.

  Even the way he says Mrs. Howard. It must sound so natural to everyone around, but between us, it sounds completely unnatural. Not only is he reminding me of the illicit relationship, the taboo between us, which made me hot and bothered to no end. He’s taunting me, challenging me, asking if this is what I want to return to.

  God, I can’t believe how much power he holds over me. With just his words.

  Everything, even his clothes, his basketball shorts and tank top is all calculated, all part of his plan, whatever his plan is. Not that I mind that part, it only exposes the contours of every rippling muscle he had in his body. And he has a lot.

  Maybe Donald’s right. Bobby’s just as manipulative as him.

  He acts as if nothing happened the other night, as if we didn’t confess our love to each other, as if I didn’t take it back that same night. He acts as if we’re meeting for the first time.

  Maybe he’s listening to what I said that night. Maybe he’s finally agreeing and backing off. I should feel relieved but instead all I get is an empty pang in my heart. Maybe that’s for the best.

  I have to bear with the pain for both of us. Still, I can’t shake the foreboding feeling that he’s plotting something.

  “Well, hi there Bobby. And it’s not Mrs. anymore. The papers finally went through. It’s official. I am Ms. Howard.”

  “Oh, congratulations, Mrs.— I mean Ms. Howard.” He grins sheepishly as he ruffles his dark brown curls with one hand. His shirt rides up, revealing a peek of his midriff and the top of that tasty V descending into his shorts. I want to run my hands over his hard stomach — but I admonish myself. I had to stop thinking of him like that, especially after what I told him that night.

  “Either way, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Lisa?”

  “No way. You’ll always be Ms. Howard to me.” He had to be teasing me. I don’t know what game he’s playing but I’ll play along. I’m not going to break down.

  “Making me feel old, you rascal. Come here and give this old lady a hug.” I wrap my arms around his waist, squeezing him tight, and I don’t want to let go. His familiar hands seem so big against my back as he pulls me closer. I probably hold on for a little too long but Bobby makes no move to separate.

  Suddenly I feel something twitch against my stomach. Is that what I think it is?

  Surprised, I let go, eyeing his crotch. I think I can make out a bulge but it might just be the billowing of his basketball shorts. The close encounter sends shivers up my spine, making me giddy and high, exactly what I don’t want.

  Is that his plan? Am I going to have to resist his advances the whole trip?

  “Been hitting those weights, huh? Must be hard to fight off all those hot sorority girls.” I’m just going to have to keep reminding him of the girls his age, the girls he should be dating.

  He pulls the shirt higher giving me a full view of his cut abdomen and his pecs. Oh, those hard mesas on either side, so well-built, Da Vinci couldn’t have chiseled out a better chest from a block of marble.

  “You’re right. They’re just girls. To me, you’re way sexier. You’re a real woman, Ms. Howard.” Oh, god. I hope I’m not blushing.

  He didn’t listen to a word I said that night. Honestly, even I didn’t know exactly what I said that night.

  I thought I had ended things, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. And then he took over like he always does in that dominant way, stopping me from saying what I wanted to say, telling me that he’d give me time. What is he planning? What the hell am I planning?

  “I know you have a crush on Lisa but stop flashing her. She’s not impressed. She’s seen plenty of fuckboys in her day,” Patty says, as she and Robert bring out the last of the bags from their house next door. Thank god for Patty. I had no idea how to respond to Bobby’s come on.

  “We’re all set! Everything’s packed and ready to go.” Rob closes the trunk. They’re doing this for me and I couldn’t be more grateful. It’s exactly what I need. We haven’t gone on our dual family camping trip since Bobby started high school, a good six, seven years ago.

  “Can we please bring this?” Ava lugs out a huge box containing a blow up raft. “We haven’t ridden this since —” She stops. Since dad left, she was going to say.

  “There’s nowhere to put it, the entire trunk is filled,” reasons Rob.

  “But remember how fun this used to be? That one time we all got on it together and there were wayy too many people so it flipped over?” Ava protests.

  “I thought I was drowning until I realized the water was only four feet deep.” Patty laughs.

  “Sweetie, I’m sorry but it won’t fit. I have no idea how we fit it so long ago.” We all know how. Donald had a storage trailer that could hold everything leaving of plenty of space in the Carters’ Suburban.

  This year though we had to stuff the back row with our baggage and barely had enough room to fit the three of us into the second row bench seats much less the inflatable raft.

  But nobody says anything. Ava’s freckled faced looks crestfallen. I don’t want our first time away as a family—well without her dad, it’s just us two—to start like this.

  She hadn’t been completely reluctant to go on a family trip, and for a teenage girl it’s really impressive. But here I am, already disappointing her.

  “Maybe we can put it in the middle seat in the back?” Bobby suggests. It’s a platitude, but I’m grateful nonetheless. He must’ve seen my frustration.

  “But then where would I sit?” I ask.

  “You can sit on my lap.” I chuckle. I’m not that heavy but 140 pounds on your lap for three hours is tough for anyone. He looks me up and down. “I’m serious.”

  “Oh, oh, oh. I’ll sit on Bobby’s lap!” Ava volunteers, holding her hand up, jumping up and down. “And maybe we can do a little more than that.” She winks at him and sways her hips seductively. She’s had a crush on Bobby since she was five and always claimed she would marry him.

  “Ava! Stop that. You’re only 13,” I scold.

  “I don’t mind if she sits in my lap, Ms. Howard. I wouldn’t do anything.”

  “Of course, you’re a gentleman. But I’m afraid this li
ttle tramp might.” I glare at her and she sticks her tongue out at me.

  “Yea, I think I’d be more comfortable with you, Ms. Howard.” I can’t help but look over Bobby’s body again, my gaze lingering over his polyester gym shorts.

  Stop it! I mentally reprimand myself again.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” But then I see Ava and remember how Donald found out about the trip. I had to do it. For her. She never asked for much even through this whole divorce and the least I could do is resist the temptation of Bobby for the three hour car ride. “OK. Fine.”

  But when I look at the mischievous twinkle in Bobby’s eyes, I regret the fact that I chose to wear a thin sundress. With only a strip of cloth between us, I would feel every contour of his muscular body.

  Donald was right. Bobby doesn’t know what love is. This is just a horny boy confusing his urges with love. I have to make him see that.

  CHAPTER 27

  BOBBY

  “Well then, I guess we’re settled. Let’s get moving.” Rob claps his hands.

  “One sec, Dad. I gotta make an important call.” In my excitement of spending the weekend with my lovely Lisa, now luckily spending an entire car ride with her on my lap, I completely forgot about Alex and James King.

  I look at my phone. Ten missed calls from Alex and 50 text messages.

  Shit, he’s freaking out. They must’ve made an offer, however shitty the offer probably is.

  “Come on, Bobby. Can’t you do it in the car? We’re wasting daylight!”

  “It’ll only take a second.” I walk back into the house. I don’t want them to hear, especially Lisa, because the app is supposed to be a surprise. It’s dedicated to her, because she was the inspiration behind it.

  Honestly, I was surprised they responded after my outburst. Just thinking about James King makes my muscles tense and the veins in my temple pop.

  I prepare myself for the forthcoming chew out from Alex as I tap the callback button. Before the first ring even ends, Alex is yelling through the phone.

  “You fucking prick! Why the hell didn’t you pick up the phone? I know why. You’re too busy schmoozing your fucking neighbor, right? Do you know how much money you have on the line, right now? And if you had waited any longer, it would all go down the fucking toilet, you goddamn irresponsible shit.”

  “OK, OK. My bad, Alex. I didn’t think that there would be a call back after what happened.”

  “Yea, I didn’t either, but they called me before I even got back to campus.”

  “And?”

  “We have an offer.” Maybe James King’s smarter than I think. “Are you ready for this?”

  “Just spit it out already.”

  “50 million dollars.” I’m stunned. I couldn’t believe it. 50 million dollars all thanks to Lisa?

  I started working on the app cause of her. The idea came from when I was in middle school and we had gotten a dog, a chocolate lab named Charlie. Ava loved him more than all of us and my parents let the Howards keep him at their house once in a while.

  Donald hated pets and wouldn’t allow Lisa to keep any from her shelter days, but he tolerated Charlie for the sake of the friendship between the Howards and the Carters.

  Our families had been drifting apart with Donald’s drinking problem getting worse and worse. My parents tried to intervene but Donald would just curse them off and tell them to mind their own fucking business.

  He yelled at Ava, yelled at Lisa, even yelled at me. Thank god he didn’t lay a hand on them, or I would’ve murdered the asshole. I still wanted to punch him, though.

  One night Ava had Charlie and Donald, not surprisingly, was drunk off his ass. While taking a piss on the lawn, he left the door open and Charlie ran away. I don’t know if Donald didn’t notice or didn’t bother to tell anyone.

  But the next day, we got a call saying they found Charlie’s body two streets down from our house. Ava was devastated, my parents blamed Donald, and I hated him for it.

  But Lisa suffered the most. She blamed herself. She thought it had been her responsibility to watch the dog, because Ava was still a kid and Donald was a drunk. She might’ve been right, but everyone knew it was Donald’s fault.

  That’s when my parents stopped going on the camping trips, stopped inviting them over for dinner, stopped interacting altogether with Donald, save the terse greeting in the driveway.

  We still stayed friends with Lisa, supporting her, bringing over food, making sure Donald wasn’t touching her, but she felt too ashamed and grew more and more reclusive. And I couldn’t do anything but watch as she became a shell of herself.

  That’s the moment I swore to myself I would free her of that cage, rid her of her grief, get Donald out of the picture, and give her the true happiness and love she deserved by taking her for my own.

  “Did you hear me? I said 50 million!” Alex interrupts my flashback.

  “Are you sure?”

  “What, you think I’m lying to you? They told us they would give us 50 million dollars if we wouldn’t entertain any other offers and we have six hours to decide.”

  “That’s why you were calling me.”

  “That’s why I was calling you, you dick.” 50 million dollars. I didn’t expect that much.

  But I can’t shake the nagging feeling they’re still underestimating us. I can’t picture James King not testing us.

  “Did you call them back, yet?” I ask.

  “No, I haven’t said anything.”

  “Then, don’t.”

  “What the fuck do you mean? We’re talking about 50 fucking million. You’re going to ignore James fucking King?” Alex’s incredulous and in most cases, he would be right.

  You don’t ignore one of the most powerful investment funds in the world. And definitely the most powerful in the city after the shit they pulled to get us to come crawling for a meeting.

  “Come on, think about it. How much were you expecting from this deal?” I’m pacing my living room, thinking of a way to beat James King. He’s put a solid offer that he knew would convince Alex, putting me in a harder position to come to an agreement with him.

  “I don’t know, a few million at most.”

  “Exactly. And they offered us 50 million. Do you think any business gives up their upper limit on their first offer? Apparently, they think this is worth much more than 50 million, forget the few million we wanted.”

  “So how do we get them to up their offer? Should we try to sneak a meeting with someone else?” Alex picks up on my train of thought quickly. That’s why he’s my partner.

  “No. If they find out, which these guys definitely will do, they might really pull the offer and we’d end up with nothing.” Hard negotiations like I did at the table are different from cheating. If we gave them our word, we just need to play by their rules. “We’ll play them against themselves.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, they gave us six hours, right? We’ll just go radio silent. No contact, no replies. Let them sweat it out. And then if anything, at the end we’ll take the 50 mil. But if I’m right, this offer could go up to a hundred million by the end of the time limit.”

  “Come on, dude. We should just take the money. What if they do the opposite and give us nothing? This is 50 fucking million dollars we’re talking about.” That was standard logic, that’s what I had Alex for, to keep me sane. But James King wouldn’t work with standard logic.

  “We have the information that Liv brought us. The potential for this is much bigger than 50 mil. Just sit on it. If they don’t up the offer in two hours, we’ll know I was wrong and you can take the deal, OK?”

  “Fine. Since this is your pet project, I’ll trust you on this.” James King tried to entice Alex with the allure of big money, thinking we’re just kids. What he doesn’t realize is that Alex is always on my side.

  “Let me know as soon as you get any news. And go celebrate. You deserve it.”

  “Too nervous. We’ll do it afte
r the deal goes through. I’ll keep in touch. And keep your fucking phone on! You have the GPS attachment, right?”

  “Yes, mom.”

  “I wouldn’t have to mother you if you acted like a real businessman.” He hangs up before I could tell him for the hundredth time: that’s what I have him for.

  Holy shit! This is fucking crazy. They’re definitely gonna offer at least hundred million, maybe even two hundred!

  This is the big haul I had always been working for, the money that I want for that happily ever after with Lisa. With this, she wouldn’t have to worry about money for the rest of her life.

  It’s only appropriate that the idea came from her. Only one last part of the plan remained. The most important part.

  Her.

  “Are you done, yet? That was much longer than a second,” my dad asks as soon as I step out of the house.

  “It was really important. Sorry, Dad. I’ll tell you all about it later.”

  “I’m just busting your balls. Sexy talk with your girlfriend?”

  “I wish. Sexy talk with Alex.”

  “Sounds sexy alright. Now pile in. We gotta get moving.”

  Lisa looks expectantly at me, waiting for me to get in first. I knew exactly what I was doing when I suggested she sit on my lap.

  I’m going to seduce her, the way I wanted to that night she refused me. Her body’s mine for the taking. I just had to take it.

  And this trip is the perfect opportunity.

  Isn’t it natural to claim what you love? To keep the most precious thing in the world to yourself? It doesn’t matter if she tries to stop me, if she tries to deny her true feelings.

  I know she loves me and by the end of this weekend, Lisa Howard will be mine.

  CHAPTER 28

  LISA

  Somehow I squeeze in on top of Bobby. The feeling of his firm muscles attached to his thick, sturdy frame, not too hard but not too soft. It’s how I like my mattresses.

  Unintentionally, I rub myself back and forth on his lap, getting comfortable. Bobby’s strong and steady legs provide more than enough support.