The Mistress and the Mouse: Honeymoon Blues

by JJ Giles

  The pain in that declaration was more than Morgan could tolerate. With malice, she threw open the door. She stood in the threshold, and filled its width and height. Her menacing stare trained on Cheryl like a red dot laser scope.

  “Who the fuck do you think you are?” Cheryl screamed.

  Quickly, Brian turned to see Morgan standing rigid. Her expression was little more than a scowl. Jerry smiled inside to see her instinct to protect and defend swelled like a noxious cloud trained at Cheryl.

  Morgan’s lips never moved to reply, yet there was a rumbling in her throat, something animalistic. One foot ground into the floor in front of the other, the movements deliberate, the tempo measured.

  “Get her the fuck away from me!” Cheryl screamed.

  Morgan had only to reach to the end of her arm to snatch a bullwhip off the wall. In a single fluid movement, her body swirled in front of Brian to divide him from this threat and the whip thrust out to catch Cheryl on the chest. An agonized scream pierced the atmosphere. Cheryl scrambled to the end of the sofa and curled there, the palm of her hand filled with blood.

  Barely able to contain his amusement, Jerry grabbed Morgan from behind. His arms wrapped tightly around her body to hold her to him, to quiet her instincts. When he expected to feel rage shivering through her body uncontrolled, he felt nothing but the most even breath, the tightest of stances, something that refused to surrender to even him.

  Yet he held to her, frightened of what she could do right now, knowing what she could be driven to in circumstances like this.

  “Does everybody know you’re screwing her?” Cheryl snarled. “That the only reason Brian had to marry this little slut was so that you could have her without tarnishing that pristine Abernathy image?”

  With that, Morgan did begin to quiver with rage. But Jerry only held tighter, her breasts crushed under his arms.

  “Honey, your problem has always been that you don’t know when to shut up,” Jerry explained. “And nobody in this world could screw you better than you,” he added.

  “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

  “First of all, there’s a divorce agreement. You’re not permitted to use the Abernathy name any longer and you’ve signed several documents using my name. Another provision required you to stay away from my children for a period of one year,” he shouted. “They need that time to recover, too. Since you haven’t done that, you forfeit. You owe me one and a half billion dollars.”

  Enraged herself, Morgan’s penetrating stare indicated something impossible to defend against. It thrust Cheryl off the sofa. “I don’t have it,” she screamed at Jerry.

  “No shit,” Jerry roared. He released Morgan now and advanced on his ex-wife. “You wanna know why, baby?” he screamed, hovering over her.

  “What the fuck would you know about it?”

  His expression as twisted as Morgan’s, he laughed out loud. A wicked grin gave him an air of malevolence. “Because I bought out Aristo Cruise Lines years ago. Don’t think it’s a subsidiary of Abernathy, however. I own it privately. Pretty smooth setup your boyfriend has. Damn good at financial management, a qualified and experienced pimp. The only problem is, he’s not your boyfriend. He was my chief executive officer until I returned his company to him the night he kicked your ass out. So you see, baby, every dime you’ve transferred from our personal joint accounts was deposited into my corporate account. That one and half billion dollars you gave him from the divorce settlement to buy new boats and build a new marina came straight back to me. Why? Because I not only pay him twice what he would otherwise make if he were running it for himself, I pay him a commission. Every time you’ve spread your legs, not only did he get a part of it, but I got most of it.”

  “You bastard!”

  “Hey...whatever, baby. I think I’ve kept you very well employed through the years and this is not exactly gratitude you’re offering. But he was instructed to give you to only the finest clients, clients I could be assured wouldn’t take it all to the press since you insisted on plying your trade into your fucking fifties,” he shouted. “But now that the world knows you’re a prostitute...you, after all, you put it out there, didn’t you...looks like it’s back to the streets where you started.”

  “You can’t fucking do this to me!”

  “Cheryl,” as he grinned and shook his head, “I can do anyfuckingthing I want to do. There’s nothing else you can take to the press and try to embarrass me with. I’m not the CEO of Abernathy anymore, I’ll be working with Brian and much happier for it. I’ll be living here with Brian and Morgan and Alex and I’m looking forward to it. That is, after we get back from our Honeymoon.”

  Cheryl’s fists clenched, ready to do damage. She turned to her son and screamed, “You do know he’s screwing your wife.”

  “Brian knows all about it,” Jerry roared. “And I don’t care who else knows about it. But what you don’t understand is that if you go back to the press and try to tell more now, nobody will listen. You’ve proven yourself to be the bitter, vindictive bitch that you are. But you were bamboozled, because you’re not very fucking bright. I understand that.” He reached into his jacket and retrieved his checkbook. “Used, tromped upon, and laid to waste. All you had to do was be up front with me. I knew you enjoyed what you do every bit as much as Morgan. I only wanted us to be a family, to have your love, but you ain’t got none to give.” Angrily, he ripped out the check.

  “And I suppose Morgan does?”

  Rather than dignify that, he handed her the check.

  With a cursory glance she found this the most condescending thing he’d ever attempted. “One million five hundred thousand dollars?” she snarled.

  “You better take it, baby. It’s all the charity I’ve got left for you.”

  “Fuck you,” she shouted. Angrily, she tore it into little bits.

  “You’re good,” Jerry roared. “You’ve always been the best at screwing yourself.” He pulled out a cell phone and summoned his security team.

  “You’re just gonna dump me out on the street?”

  “No, sweetie.” The door opened and armed guards gathered quickly. “Take Cheryl Jones to her sister’s house at 1380 Sheerling Glen in New Albany. Tighten up the security around the Tower tonight and tomorrow, because the kids will be in the penthouse until we take off Monday morning. Make sure she doesn’t slip back in here tonight. Call the legal department to get a restraining order issued for the Tower, the Mansion and this property, specifically for Brian, Morgan, me and Alex.”

  “Yes, sir, right away.” The guard gripped Cheryl’s bone-thin upper arm.

  “You can’t do this to me.” Her panic was evident in the shrillness of her voice.

  “It’s already done, Cheryl,” Jerry said sadly. “My lawyer will be getting with you to set up the payments you’ll be making to me. I suggest those installments be made regularly because prostitution can put your ass in jail, honey. It’s gonna cost you twenty grand a month to roam the streets now. But if you so much as...”

  No...as he backed away. No, this was over for him now. Letting her pull him back into her trap wasn’t going to happen. “Get her out of here,” he commanded.

  A team of ten surrounded her and pushed her through the door.

  Filled with wrath tinged by a bit of sorrow, Brian watched as they dragged her writhing body out the door. Heavily he sighed to feel the anxiety in the room dissipate. With tears in his eyes, he stood staring incredulously.

  Jerry drew in a deep breath and softened to Alex’s sorrowed expression. Yet he asked, “Ladies...if you could give Alex and I a few minutes with Brian and Morgan...”

  Cherry and Renee acquiesced and wrapped around Brian. Renee’s lips dusted over Brian’s. “I love you, my brother,” was all she could say. Cherry took Renee’s hand and led her out the door.

  For a long moment, Morgan watched Brian, his tears dripping down his cheeks. Finally, he broke the silence with, “I’m okay.”

&nb
sp; “No, baby, you’re not okay,” she cried. She ran to him and gathered him up as she would a fallen baby. “You’re allowed to be not okay.” Gently, she forced his head to her shoulder where a pained and deliberate sob broke over her. Tightly, he held to her, lifted her a little to soothe his desperate need.

  “I’ll be alright,” he whispered, his cheek crushed to hers. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything. Your birthday and now your wedding.”

  Adamantly she shook her head. Her kisses washed his face so tenderly. “This is not your fault, baby,” she whispered over and over, wanting him desperately to believe it. “I love you,” over and over, something he could believe.

  He could express his gratitude and his love with only a passionate hug. Only reluctantly, he released her.

  “I’m sorry,” Jerry said softly.

  Brian threw up a hand. On his way to the bar, he said forcefully, “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t have seen it. This is how you’ve lived with her for thirty-five years?”

  Jerry nodded and quickly lit a cigarette. “I’m very sorry,” he sighed heavily.

  “No...Dad...I’m very sorry. I never knew...and I find myself saying that repeatedly lately.” He slugged down a shot of bourbon. The warmth squelched the chill his mother left with him.

  “You weren’t supposed to know, Brian. I was trying to protect you and your sister from the ugliness that passed between me and her. But I guess it’s true what they say about kids. Somehow they sense it.”

  “You didn’t deserve that, though.”

  “I’m not exactly sitting in the choir loft, son. But she’s not taking me to the crypt anymore. If there’s any kind of relationship you want to maintain with her it is beyond my interest. She could have given birth to you and split with the cash. She could have let me and Alex together raise you, but she wanted the money...and your grandfather was there...ready to fuck me up again...” Nor would Jerry have been able to live with himself if their father went after Alex.

  Morgan perked to that confession. Brian asked, “What are you talking about?”

  Jerry hesitated. Solemnly, he glanced at Alex. But this was the very thing Brian needed to know. The events that shaped his life before he was born. What started this entire mess and ended so well for all of them. But Brian still needed to know.

  Jerry went to the bar to fill a glass for himself and Alex, then he fell into the chair, knowing he was probably unable to get through it standing. Alex nestled onto the arm, his embrace ready to protect and defend.

  Unable to be held by Brian’s gaze, his hand went to Alex’s thigh. “It’s true, Brian. Alex and I...were...and are very much in love...again. It was at the villa that your grandfather found me...making love to Alex one very lovely morning. He, uhh...he kicked down the door, jerked me off the bed and beat me damn near to death. Fractured skull, brain damage, some very serious internal damage. He raped me, too.”

  Deeply Morgan shivered. That was the old man’s MO. How many of her friends had died that way?

  “He hated Alex,” Jerry said. “Couldn’t stand the fact that Alex is gay and wasn’t about to let me be gay. I’m not gay,” he added for clarification, “bisexual, and I am in love with Alex. Alex was born in the wrong body, you know, but even that doesn’t matter to me. While your grandfather invented the Billionaire Boy’s Club...I mean...it was alright with him if we screwed each other, but to fall in love was out of the question.”

  Sadly, Brian nodded and peered at Alex’s sad, sweet smile.

  “I was brought back to the States and put in a nursing home for awhile to recover. Alex wasn’t allowed to come back. He went to Paris to live with our uncle...Uncle B, we called him. Went to design school there. Uncle B left his entire estate to Alex alone because he knew Alex had been disinherited and except for a brief sojourn back home, Alex stayed with B until B died. But Alex came home only briefly to see what we could salvage of ourselves, and I understand now it’s because Cheryl called him and told him the old man was in trouble. That’s when she got pregnant. Your grandfather found us and promised to kill me if Alex didn’t leave right away. At that juncture we didn’t have any reason to think he wouldn’t kill me. Alex loved me enough to leave.

  “So...when I was able to walk again, I had to forego college and go straight to work at Abernathy.”

  “You never went to college?”

  Jerry shook his head. “There wasn’t time. The old man taught me everything I needed to know to run it. It certainly helped that I had a natural talent for business. As soon as I was able to walk again, two broken hips, two broken legs, I was sitting in my office one afternoon when your grandfather threw your mother through my door to introduce me to my new bride. Told me she was pregnant with Alex’s baby.

  “She was so scared. Can’t say as I blamed her for that. She fell at my feet, sobbing, begging me not to hurt her. I pulled her into my arms and looked up at my father, wearing that totally smug expression he constantly wore. He said the wedding was going down that Saturday...at noon.

  “I can sit here with the distance of many years between that day and this one and tell you I never loved her, either. I was nineteen, she was seventeen. We were both scared, Brian. And the pity I felt for her then felt like love to me.

  “We had to live in the Mansion with the old man and I did whatever I could to make it up to her. Knew that she had been used. Forced to carry a child she didn’t want. She was seventeen, Brian,” Jerry emphasized, to remind him of any seventeen-year-old girl who found herself pregnant and faced with that kind of responsibility. “But I wanted that baby. I wanted that baby so bad I would have stormed heaven and hell for that baby.” With tears streaming down his cheeks, he choked, “That baby was the only thing I had to live for. You were the only thing I had left of Alex.”

  “Oh, God.” Helplessly, he fell to the floor between his father’s legs. “Oh God, I never knew.”

  With his own tears silently coursing, Alex laid his cheek on the top of Jerry’s head. His hand strolled over Jerry’s chest to cling.

  “I know,” Jerry said gently and stroked Brian’s jaw. “But you were so beautiful. And I was so scared for you, that either your mother or your grandfather would hurt you and I could do nothing more than what either of them expected me to do to keep you alive. Together, they very effectively trapped me, you understand now.

  “You don’t know how relieved I was when the old man died. But your mother had learned all of his tricks. She quite succinctly explained that very day that if I chose to make any changes around the Mansion she would take her case to the press and ruin me. Everything about my kids, the Billionaire Boy’s Club, the fact that me and all of my brothers are queer. The beatings she took, the company prostitutes, the list goes on. She also didn’t care for the fact that I was screwing my children...”

  “That never happened,” Brian rasped.

  A small smile widened Jerry’s mouth a little. He paused as he turned to Morgan a moment to see if she understood that. A look of relief was his reward. “No, it didn’t, but the fact that I had my fourteen- and sixteen-year-olds sleeping in my bed every night to protect them wouldn’t have been too credible in a court of law.”

  “Fucking bitch,” Brian whispered under his breath. “Then that’s why we got kicked out of your room that day.”

  Jerry nodded. “And yes, I’ve gotten very bitter and hateful about it over the years. That mess with Genlabs...it never occurred to me you were leaving me for good. Only recently I’ve learned what really happened that day. That you thought I was responsible for Howard’s death, and then your mother told you you’re not my son anyway. That was the day you proved to me you weren’t cut out for business and I had intended to send you to any school you wanted to go to...to learn whatever it was you wanted. That even though I wanted you so badly, that I needed you so desperately, you were still Alex’s son. An artist. And I can imagine what you felt then. Angry, as embittered as I was, and probably relieved. Elated even to know you di
dn’t belong to me.

  “But you were the only thing I lived for,” he admitted. “I realize now how unfair that was. It’s wasn’t your responsibility to keep me alive.

  “I also understand that’s what made it easy for you to close the door on your family and not look back. Your family is a fucked-up mess. So is mine,” he offered with a gentle, yet sarcastic twist to his lips. “And then came Morgan. And Morgan can make it so damned easy, can’t she? Morgan can make every day into a new possibility. Morgan can accept people where they’re at at the moment and let them recover in a safe fuzzy warm place.”

  “God, I never knew,” Brian gasped.

  “I didn’t want you to know about any of this, Brian. And the truth is things probably wouldn’t have been so hard on us if I had gotten involved in the shit your grandfather, your mother and JD Rockingham were doing. They wanted me with them,” he gasped. “But something in me couldn’t go there, honey. Maybe it’s because I knew what it was like to be dying in his clutches while he was raping me...I don’t know. You can’t imagine what it’s like to see a young, beautiful girl, her body cold...”

  “Dad, it’s alright.” Brian knew that Jerry had been as tortured by that as everything else. “Don’t go back there.”

  “I couldn’t even get it up...and they stood there laughing at me!” With the most tortured expression feeling something so painful, he was barely able to draw breath.