Bad Boy vs Millionaire

by Candy J. Starr

  I didn’t say anything but I crossed my fingers and hoped it would all work out. Then I noticed Jack staring at something.

  “Don’t just sit there, gawking into space, Jack. We don’t have time to waste.”

  Then I followed his gaze to the billboard. It had a huge, stylized picture of Monkey Bride and in the right corner in bright yellow that you couldn’t miss it said “Special guests: STORM”.

  ***

  When the cops pulled us over, I couldn't believe our bad luck. I clenched my fists and tried not to scream, imagining it all being ruined. Hannah would probably be in the air before we could even make it to the airport.

  The cop took Jack's license and sauntered back to his car to check the details. It was okay for him to saunter. He didn’t have a high-tension rescue mission at stake. I bit my thumbnail and tried not to scream at him. Eric shot me a worried glance and Spud kept sulking. It was a whole big mess that wasted valuable time.

  I leaned over to look at Jack, hoping he had some kind of backup plan, although what that would be, I didn’t know. Maybe he could just take off. If he gunned it, we could get a good head start on the cop. We might make it to the airport on time. That’s the kind of crazy thing you do when love was at stake.

  But no. He had his phone out. Texting. How could he? Surely, he had to be more stressed than I was. He should be hitting things and screaming and making like a man possessed. Instead, he just calmly played with his phone. Did he even care about Hannah? If he did, he had a funny way of showing it.

  “What’s going on, Jack? Get out and tell that cop we’re in a hurry?”

  Then I noticed the way his fingers trembled as he hit the keys. His face had gone ashen grey. I had no idea who he’d been texting but he looked queasy, as though sending that text had caused him extreme physical pain. He wiped his hand across his forehead.

  “No need,” he replied. He half-turned in his seat and shot me a grin, trying to look all manly and in control, but I’d seen what he was going through.

  The cop ran back to our car. He handed Jack his license. And apologised.

  It was over like a dream. No ticket, no making us go in. Nothing.

  Jack took off at lightning speed, his hands gripped tight on the steering wheel.

  “See, I took care of it,” he said. “Do you think we'll make it?”

  “I hope so, I really hope so.”

  He wasn’t nearly as calm as he made out, and who had he been messaging to get us off the ticket so easily?

  As soon as we got to the airport, all four of us jumped out of the car. Jack threw Spud the keys.

  “Go park the car!”

  Spud caught the keys and moved around to the driver's seat.

  “It's not fair. I come all the way here and now I miss out on the action.”

  But the three of us ran into the airport towards the international departures, praying she hadn't gone through yet. I didn’t even have time to tell Spud that him being there for the action sounded like the worst idea ever.

  Eric grabbed my hand as we dodged people with overladen trolleys blocking our paths and weirdos who had nothing better to do than to mill around where we needed to go.

  Jack almost knocked down an old lady, brushing her down and apologising, before rushing off again.

  I could see the departures sign up ahead but what were our chances of catching up with Hannah? She might be catching a private plane. She might be through those gates where we couldn’t reach her. There were a thousand possibilities that ran through my mind.

  Chapter 36. Hannah

  The driver from the car we’d taken to the airport followed us to the check in desk. I wasn’t sure why, since we didn’t have a lot of luggage. He creeped me out with his black suit and his solid, square head.

  Then there was a mix up and the girl had to go off and clarify something. Tamaki drummed his fingers on the counter and the sound of it made my belly turn, so I closed my hand over his to make him stop. Only then did he turn to me and smile.

  “You won’t regret this, Hannah,” he said.

  And I wondered. He’d lied to me about the Angie thing. He’d lied so smoothly. That didn’t seem right.

  The girl came back and apologised for making us wait. Tamaki huffed at her and I wondered at the break in his normally icy façade. Normally, he never showed signs of impatience or anger.

  As we walked to the departure gate, Tamaki kept a tight grip on my wrist. I didn’t want to go through those doors. I didn’t want to get on that plane. My nerves made me drag my feet, not wanting to make the commitment of having my passport stamped.

  Things Tamaki had done started to take on a different meaning. Like when he’d been so upset about Vicious and didn’t want the puppy to go back to its old home ― that wasn’t sweet and caring. That was just possessive.

  I thought about the things he’d told me about his father. I wondered if he’d just grown so used to having things promised to him and then taken away that he couldn’t find it in himself to trust in anything.

  He led me though the crowd of people, eyes straight ahead without regard for anyone around him. I noticed the driver continued to follow us. His bulk didn’t easily blend into the crowd. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

  I put my chin up and kept walking.

  As we neared the door to Immigration, Jack Colt came striding towards me.

  “Hannah, thank fuck we found you.”

  “Jack?”

  I couldn’t quite believe he was there. I wanted to hurl myself into his arms as the blood coursed hot through my veins but I stopped myself.

  Then I noticed Angie and Eric were with him. I had no idea why they were there.

  “Hurry up and say goodbye to your friends. We have to get going.” Tamaki didn’t let go of my wrist. His voice chilled my blood.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  Angie faced up to Tamaki, her face all red and fierce.

  “What the hell is going on with Blainsley Management? You need to answer some questions before we let Hannah anywhere near you, buddy.”

  Tamaki waved Angie aside but she ignored him.

  “Why didn’t you tell us you owned the company? Why are you trying to sign Storm?”

  I tried to break free from Tamaki’s grip as the words settled into my brain.

  “He’s not taking Hannah anywhere. Not if I have anything to do with it.” Jack grabbed my free arm. “Now, you heard her, mate. Answer the questions.”

  He looked ready to take on the world. I couldn’t quite figure out what they were saying. Tamaki owned Blainsley Management? So, this was about that, not me. Angie nodded to let me know what they were saying was true.

  “I don't know what you are talking about.” Tamaki kept his head down. He looked suspicious. Really suspicious. He tried to act nonchalant but his gaze darted around the concourse, settling on the driver still hovering near us.

  “Yes, you do. You bought the company out in some rush job and got them to sign us. Why? It seems dodgy to me.”

  Jack got right up in Tamaki’s face, grabbing his collar. Tamaki was backed up against the wall with nowhere to retreat. A security guy sitting near the departure gate door scrutinised us. I was sure Jack would hit Tamaki and I couldn’t really blame him.

  “Let him go, Jack. You don't want to get busted. And I want to hear what he has to say for himself.”

  Jack loosened his grip but stayed standing very close to Tamaki. The security guard relaxed a bit.

  “Hannah, I did it for you. It was going to be… a wedding present.”

  He couldn't look at me and his words came out in a halting way. It seemed like a stupid wedding present, to have me all upset about losing Storm then giving them back to me. My hands trembled with rage and the bile rose in my stomach.

  “Likely story.” Angie looked angry. “That doesn't even work out with the dates. You bought the company pretty much before she left Tokyo and now you are saying it's a wedding
gift. She hadn't even thought about marrying you at that point. I think you need to explain yourself. She can't get on a plane with you.”

  Tamaki grabbed my arm again, pulling me towards him.

  “Come on, Hannah. We don't need to listen to this.”

  “Yes, we do.” I tried to pull my arm away but he held tight. I didn't like the idea of that. He couldn't literally drag me on the plane, could he? That would be kidnapping. Surely that breached some kind of civil aviation law.

  I looked at the security guard. He still watched us but made no move to do anything, just watching on curiously, as if this was some show for his amusement.

  “Let's go somewhere more private to talk about this,” I said, wondering if there was actually somewhere more private in the entire airport. A few other people stood near us, pretending to adjust their bags or look at the departure boards.

  “No need for that, Hannah.” Tamaki stepped up. “Your friends are just being stupid. Making idiots of themselves. We've got to get through to catch our plane.”

  He tried to stare Jack down but had to turn away.

  “You. You should be nowhere near Hannah.”

  I swallowed as the blood rushed to my head.

  “You can't have anything to do with his guy, Hannah. You should not even be near him. I can't explain now.” Tamaki looked around him. A small group of curious travelers had gathered. “But you can never, ever be near him.”

  “No,” I said. “You don't get to say that to me.”

  Jack’s look made me shudder. I wondered what I was to him.

  “I bought the management company so I could rescue her away from you,” Tamaki said. “Hannah had got tangled up with you, it was causing her all kinds of stress. I couldn't bear to see her so upset so I wanted to take that off her shoulders. I can give her things. All kinds of things that you can't. I can protect her.”

  Jack glared at him.

  “I thought things would be better for her if she was with you but I was wrong. You are wrong, and maybe a little bit crazy.”

  I still couldn’t really piece it all together.

  Angie rushed forward and kicked Tamaki in the shins.

  “I was on your side,” she said, “and you were just a big dodgy prick. You can't go around making decisions about other people's lives like that.”

  Jack put his hands on my shoulders.

  “It's up to you, Hannah. You have to decide. Are you going with him or staying with us?”

  He said “us”. Not “me”. Not that he wanted me, himself personally.

  I could get on that plane still. Tamaki wanted to protect me. I believed him when he said that. I had the sure and safe future path laid out before me. I'd never have to worry again. I'd never have my heart rise or fall at a word from Jack Colt. I'd be immune.

  I looked to Tamaki for reassurance. He could surely say something. Instead his phone rang.

  And he took the call. In the middle of all this, he took the call.

  He wandered away from us, mumbling into his phone. I couldn’t hear what he said, I could just see his back as he moved around, kicking the floor with his toes. As much as I knew Tamaki would protect me, in some ways I had to protect him too. Both of us, we had this thing. It wasn’t love but it was a definite thing. He’d opened his heart to me, about his mother. About his childhood. I’d understood, just like he’d understood me. But what good was security without trust?

  Angie nudged Jack. “Tell her you want her to stay, Jack.”

  Even more people had gathered around. I felt smothered with so many eyes turned on me. I wanted to run away. I needed to process all this but it just get getting more confused until my head swam.

  Tamaki came back, putting his phone away in his jacket pocket.

  “Was that your father?” I asked.

  Tamaki nodded. “He wanted to be sure everything was going to plan.”

  Then it clicked. I was the plan. Like some goods he was carting home. I remembered the way Tamaki's father had acted when I met him. The way he’d been appraising me. Even back then, it’d been as though I was something to be bought and sold.”

  “You have to choose, Hannah. You have to decide who is more important to you. Me or him.” Jack looked into my eyes and, for a moment, everything stopped. The airport faded away and so did the crowd gathered around us. Everyone faded into the background. This was him. This was him, 100%.

  “Of course she's going to pick me.” Tamaki tried to push Jack aside. “I fell in love with her at first sight. I’ve been there for her when you’ve done nothing but cause her pain. Have you ever done anything good for Hannah in your whole life?”

  Jack pushed him, sending him hurling backwards. He hit the wall then righted himself. As he stumbled, I noticed the black bulk of the driver moving forward.

  For a moment, Tamaki’s gaze burned onto Jack, a searing look filled with hate. I remembered that day when the thugs attacked Vicious. Tamaki had had the killer look in his eyes that day. And he had it now.

  He grabbed Jack and pushed him up against the wall with his hands around his throat. I looked at the security guard for assistance but the driver was with him, distracting him. Shit. Did that guy work for Tamaki? He looked deadly.

  I tried to get between the two of them but Eric held me back.

  “Let them work it out,” he said.

  Tamaki tightened his grip on Jack’s throat. It had me really frightened. And I didn’t like the way people around all stared.

  “You are nothing. And you always will be.” Tamaki almost spat the words at Jack and I could see Jack squirm away in pain.

  “Stop it!” I screamed. “Just stop it now.”

  “Will you get on the plane with me?” Tamaki asked.

  But he’d let his guard down for a split second and Jack took his chance. He knocked Tamaki’s arm from his throat and swung from the other side, slamming Tamaki in the face. His fist crashed into Tamaki’s jaw with a sickening crunch. Tamaki staggered from the blow and Jack threw him to the ground.

  “You are so full of shit with your love at first sight.” Jack pinned him down, his face almost touching Tamaki’s. “No man would fall in love with Hannah at first sight and go to the trouble of buying up a company and shit just to get her. A man would fight an attraction to that woman with every fibre of his being. He'd try to walk away just to save his sanity. He'd claw his insides out so he could get her out of his system. That's the kind of woman she is, one that you do not want to fall in love with because she'll kill you with her fucked-up-ness. You'd have to get know all her insanity and love her because of it, not in spite of it, then maybe try to have yourself committed to an insane asylum at the craziness of it all.”

  He slammed his fist into the floor beside Tamaki.

  “There is no love at first sight with Hannah. You need weeks, months maybe even years to peel back all the layers around her. You have to know those layers and still love her. You talk about love but what you've got is nothing. Absolutely nothing. You love the outer layer of her, that's like loving her clothes or her perfume. Something she'll take off at will. I've seen her in all lights from her best to her worst and I'm willing to take all that on. Are you?”

  My jaw hit the ground. He said that? He really said that. That was fucked up and totally dysfunctional and all kinds of wrong. But it was beautiful.

  I realised that it didn't matter how much money you have or any of that other shit. Let the papers print shitty photos of me. Let the scandal unfold. Fuck it all, let my father go to jail and face up to all the shitty things he’d done. I couldn’t rescue him. Not by sacrificing my own life.

  “Is that 100%?” I asked Jack.

  He got up off the ground and brushed himself off.

  “Maybe 98.5…” He grinned.

  “That was beautiful, Jack.”

  Who’d said that?

  I spun around and saw Spud walking up to us. What the hell was Spud doing there and why was holding a giant bottle of champagne?”
r />   I didn't have time to think about that though. I had to throw my arms around Jack's neck and tell him I'd stay. No matter what. Even if one day my heart ended up shattered in pieces like confetti, I had to take this chance.

  “This is the last time I come running after you,” he whispered in my ear.

  “Well, this must be the last time you act like a dick,” I replied.

  “Hey, that’s that chick,” I heard someone in the crowd say. Then I heard phones click.

  Jack tried to put his arm around me, to shield me from them but I didn’t want to let other people ruin this moment. I pulled him to me.

  He wrapped his arms around me and the feeling flooded back into my body. His lips met mine and the whole lot of them fade away. They were just people and I didn’t care what they thought. I just knew I’d come so far to be there in his arms.

  The crowd cheered then took more photos and I knew they’d be uploaded to their twitters or whatever in a matter of moments.

  I pulled away because I hated public displays of affection. They’re tacky and wrong. But the feeling of Jack's lips on mine lingered, the imprint that had remained since the first time I met him, that stupid kiss in the bar.

  “Stop cheering, you stupid people. Move away. Nothing to see here.” Angie shook her fist angrily at the crowd.

  Luckily, I only had a carry-on bag because if I left without boarding my flight, I'd inconvenience a whole planeload of people.

  The crowd had gotten even thicker around us. I worried about getting through them to the exit. When suddenly, Spud shook up his huge bottle of champagne and uncorked it, sending sprays of bubbles all over the crowd.

  “Spud, I didn't know you cared so much, mate,” Jack said with a grin as we pushed toward the exit.

  I didn't think so either.

  “Nah, I just always wanted to do that and this seemed like the perfect time.”

  I looked back at Tamaki as he went through the gate. He gave me a sad, wonky grin. I realised it was the same look he’d had on his face the day Vicious’ people came to claim him. A thin circle of pain grabbed around my heart. I’d chosen Jack but there was still a part of me, deep inside that felt that bond I had with him.