by Claire Adams
I looked around while I drove up to the house. A black van sat in front with tinted windows. I slammed on the brake and stared at the van. It didn’t look right at all. It looked like the kind of van people get dragged into in the movies.
There’d be three thugs with zip ties and assault rifles, ready to throw my body in a lake. I had to leave, and I had to do it right away. That guard already told them that I was there, which meant that if I didn’t leave now, I’d probably be killed.
I backed the car up and turned it around just as a car turned into the drive and started heading straight for me. There was no time to check back, the gate was closing, and that thug was standing on the other side, laughing.
It closed just in time for me to slam on the brakes. My phone started ringing. “Hello?”
“Hey, what just happened?” Jake asked.
“You scared the living shit out of me earlier, and now you’ve got a convict working your gate. Did you tell him to lock me in?”
I heard the sound of gravel crunching behind me and screamed. “Jake, what’s going on?”
A hand rested on my shoulder, and I jolted. When I turned back, Jake was standing behind me wearing a white tuxedo. “Could you trust me for a moment?”
“I’m ready to leave. You have gone way too far.” I got out of the car to confront him. “You freaked me the fuck out. Now you won’t tell me what’s going on, or why you’re acting like this, and I’m trapped. Unless I find a way to climb that gate, I can’t leave.”
He hesitated. “Trust me, Mercedes. Just this once.” He took my hand. “I need you to trust me.”
“Why? Why can’t you tell me what’s happening, and what is that guy doing at the gate? He’s blazed out of his mind.”
“Is he?”
“Yes,” I said.
“No wonder.” He shook his head in consternation. “Please, don’t leave yet.”
“I want an explanation.”
He ran off and started yelling at the guard, then pointed down the road. The guard was furious, red in the face, but he did as he was told and left. When Jake came back, he was drenched in sweat, and he couldn’t look me in the eye.
“I want an explanation.”
“You don’t trust me?” he asked.
I took a deep breath. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t?” his voice quivered.
“I just don’t know what’s going on.”
“Can you please come with me? I’m not gonna do anything to you, Mercedes.”
“I’m sorry, Jake, but this is weird. I don’t get it.”
“Trust me, please.”
I wanted to trust him, but I was so scared. I didn’t even know why I was scared, but something was happening, and I didn’t know what it was. I wasn’t comfortable with the uncertainty, and he wasn’t okay. He was pale and sweating, and strands of his hair had fallen down his forehead.
He looked at me with that intense gaze of his, as if he were trying to see right through me, but I was closed off. I didn’t like this. He knew that I didn’t like this, so why was he doing it? I had to know.
“What’s that van?”
“The van?” he asked.
“Yeah, why is there a creepy mafia van outside your house?”
“Mafia vans aren’t wheelchair accessible.”
“Fine.” I got back in the car. “But I’m driving myself up to the house, and I want that gate left open.”
“Okay.” He was visibly upset when he turned back and got into his car. I could see him staring at me through the rearview mirror when he started it up. He didn’t stop staring. Every few seconds, he’d look up with wide eyes. Every look got sadder and sadder until I felt like I’d just murdered a puppy.
He stopped the car in front of the house and waited for me. When I got out of the car, he rushed up and reached out for my hand. “Come with me,” he said.
I didn’t have any choice but to take his hand and let him lead me through the door into the foyer. I stopped to look around. Everything was red and white. Rose vines wrapped the banister, flower displays bloomed in all the corners, and a carpet of petals led through the living room.
He wrapped his arm around mine and led me through toward the back door. “Close your eyes,” he said before we got in view.
“Okay.” I shut them, and he led me out onto the veranda. I could feel the light growing dimmer when we stepped outside. The sun must’ve been setting, and the air was cool.
“Mercedes, open your eyes.”
Jake was on his knees holding a black, crushed velvet box out to me. He opened it with trembling hands, revealing the ring inside. “Mercedes.” He looked me right in the eye. “When I first saw you, I knew that I needed a woman like you in my life. Then you showed up at my door, and I can’t stand the thought that someday you might turn around and leave me. I love you—so much. Will you please do the honor of being my wife?”
Tears flew out. I was sobbing, shaking, and clenching my fists, just so that I could get a handle on myself.
“Yes,” I said.
He was on his feet, and I was in his arms before I knew what was happening. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my dad hobbling up. My mom followed behind him with Loren beside her. Haylie flew out from behind a corner and wrapped herself around my leg. I took my time, talking to everyone, and running after her while Jake stood watching me with a look of enchantment.
Epilogue
Mercedes
Downtown was congested. The late afternoon traffic was particularly bad, given the number of events that were taking place this evening. There was a concert in the stadium, a political rally at the convention center, and an entire block was cordoned off for the local farmer’s market.
We were lucky that that we were able to get the event hall when we did. Had we waited any longer, we would’ve had to put the whole thing off another year. I walked inside and took a look around. The arched entranceways lining the edges of the room had been veiled with golden silk, illuminated by sun lamps, casting a glow over the marble floors. Above the stage, the workers had hung a brightly lit, golden sun, etched with the silhouette of my father’s face.
Speaking of which, my father walked around the stage, holding a microphone. He blew into it, and the sound blasted from the speakers in front of the stage. I shoved my fingers in my ears. “What are you doing?”
He laughed. “I got you.”
“Dad.” I marched up. “So help me God, this is one of the most important things I have ever done. You will not get drunk. You will not make jokes, and you will not say anything inappropriate. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He gave me a quick salute and strolled off the stage toward the bar at the back of the room.
“Dad!”
“Fine.” He walked back to where I stood in front of the stage. “Why won’t you let me have any fun?”
“We let you indulge while you were doing your treatments, but you’re in remission now. You have to take care of yourself. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I feel fine,” he said.
“And I don’t want you causing any trouble.”
“I won’t.”
“No, Dad. You don’t understand. If this goes well, we will save lives.”
“So?”
“So, you’re about to have a hundred snooty old women show up here. They’re not going to give us money if you get drunk and make a fool of yourself.”
“Fine, but I’m getting drunk after. You keep that bar open; you got it?”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
The sound of footsteps echoed through the hall. I turned around, and my heart jumped. The feeling never went away. Jake was, and always would be, the catalyst for my desires. He came up and gave me a kiss. “I don’t understand the sun thing?”
“They remind me of you.” I reached up and pulled a strand of his hair through my fingers. “You’re my golden god.”
“And you’re my rose.” He wr
apped his arm around me. “Have you thought of a name for the foundation yet?”
“I decided to dedicate it to the person that made this possible.”
“Who?”
“You, silly. I’m calling it the Jake Ryan Foundation.”
“I like the sound of it.” He dropped his arm. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, I’m starving.” We began walking out.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“I didn’t tell you?”
“No.”
“Well, then I didn’t want you to know.”
When we walked outside, the waning light of the evening sun cast an orange glow over the cars waiting in the downtown traffic. There was a little burger place two blocks up. I knew he would like it there. It was dingy, with a touch of comfort food, and tiny booths lining the walls. We took a seat in back and gave the waiter our orders.
When he walked away, Jake leaned in. “You are going to shine tonight.”
“So long as you stay by my side.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“I just hope somebody doesn’t cause a scene.”
“Oh, come on.” He took a drink of his water. “Don’t you remember? The show is the best part.”
“I guess it is.”
“The trick is to distract them from the bar long enough for them to take out their wallets. Then, when it’s over, cut them loose and let them have at it.”
“You’re a genius.” I laughed.
The waiter came out with two plates of greasy burgers and tater tots.
“How’s work?” I asked Jake.
“How would you like to visit Tokyo?”
“Why would I go to Tokyo?”
“DIY deep fry.”
“Is that what you’re calling it?”
“In English. It sounds much better in Japanese. We’re opening a palace in one of the main shopping districts.”
“A palace?”
“It’s a pagoda with everything the rich need to feel safe. I never really liked the idea of pampering customers, but it is beautiful inside. I thought that maybe you might like to come and check it out.”
“I don’t know.”
“Why not? You still haven’t let me put you on a plane. You’d enjoy Japan.”
“I just don’t know.” I took a bite of a tater tot.
“Do you like traveling?”
“I do, and you know that I’d love to travel.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s nothing.”
I took another drink of water and went back to my tater tot.
“Have you spoken to Dori yet?” he asked.
“I did. She wants me to come in this evening to do a fitting. Apparently, she’s been working on the dress for the past two months. She said she woke up, inspired, and decided that she would make me a dress.”
“Really?”
“She’s obsessed with me. She had her new assistant try to make friends with me, so she could convince me to model for her.”
“You should do it.”
“Maybe I will,” I said.
“Why did you ask me to come with you?”
“I wanted to pull you away from work and spend some time with you.” I took a bite of my burger.
“Then I’m glad you did.” He reached over and took my hand, sending a shiver up my spine.
There was a calm, quiet between us now. We didn’t worry the way we used to, not until now, while my fears rose up and his eyes passed through me. I focused on my food, and finished as much as I could while he took his time. He was silently urging me to open up.
When I finished my food, he got a box, and we went our separate ways. I drove down to Dori’s office, and he went back to work. The full magnitude of what was happening didn’t hit me until Dori stepped back to admire her work.
She held up a mirror for me to see. I was wrapped in a shining mosaic of woven amethyst and pearls. “It’s beautiful,” I said.
She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone to snap a picture before I could protest. “There, now you’re a model.”
“But…”
“I’m not putting you in a magazine,” she said. “I wanted to capture the moment.”
“Thank you, Dori.”
“Don’t thank me yet.” She walked around her desk to duck down and pull out a pair of shoes. They were sparkling lavender, simple pumps with diamonds resting on the buckle.
“No, no, no, no.”
She lifted one foot and slipped it on. Then she moved to the other. I pulled it away.
“No,” I said.
“They’re gorgeous, and it’s the only thing I have to go with the outfit.”
I pursed my lips. “Fine.” I threw up my hands.
“There.” She slipped it on and stepped back. “You look amazing.”
“Are you coming to the gala?” I asked.
“I’m sending love.” She reached into her desk and pulled out a white envelope.
“Thank you so much.” I hugged her and ran out into the limo waiting outside.
Jake was still getting ready, so we stopped by the house to pick him up. He waited with his hands folded in front, holding a white corsage. When he got in, he leaned in and kissed me. Then he looked me up and down and shook his head. “That is going to be so fun to rip off.”
“This,” I lifted my dress to show him the diamond buckles, “is unacceptable.”
“It wasn’t my idea, I swear.”
“No? You’ve been sneaking these diamonds in. Don’t think I didn’t notice that handbag.”
“You won’t let me give you anything.”
“No, I won’t.”
“You make me charge you rent.”
“Because no man will ever support me. I will support myself.”
“I’ll respect that, but can’t you give a little. What about something small, like a car?”
“I like my car.”
“It’s 30 years old.”
“No, I’m not doing it. I will buy a new one when I need it.”
“Mercedes, I want to be your safety net. If you get hurt or you can’t pay for medical bills, what will happen? I’m going to be there, and you can’t stop me.”
“And I will protest the entire time.”
“I’m fine with that, too. It’s fun seeing you squirm.” He laughed.
I rested my head on his shoulder while we drove down the freeway. Spotlights swept across the sky, heralding my newfound purpose. There was no red carpet. I banned them completely, which meant that many of the usual players wouldn’t come, but the ones that gave were still on the guest list, and Jake was there.
“You’ve done so much to make this happen,” I said when we stopped in front. “I don’t know that I could ever thank you enough.”
“I think you’ve already found a way.” He rested his head on my belly.
I gasped. “You knew, and you let me torture myself like this the whole time?”
“I wanted you to have the chance to tell me yourself, and I didn’t know you were torturing yourself until we went out earlier.”
“You’re okay with it?” I asked.
“Okay?” He tilted my chin so that I faced him. “I’ve always wanted children. It’s a miracle.”
“It is.”
We walked out, hand in hand, into the event hall, where the city’s elite moved back and forth under the low light. They carried drinks, talked with each other, and laughed. Each of them contributed thousands of dollars to pay for cancer treatment for impoverished victims, just like my father. Jake saved my father’s life. Now, he was going to help me save the lives of thousands of other people. Fathers and mothers. Sons and daughters.
He sat me down at a table beside the stage. He took my hand, and we both watched as my father walked on stage. He cleared his throat and began reading the speech he wrote. It was about the man that loved his daughter and decided to save his life simply because he could.
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BILLIONAIRE RIDES
By Claire Adams
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Claire Adams
Chapter One
Ethan
"Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Colson?"
"Yes: blow me," I stated.
I leaned back in my chair as my beautiful assistant Angela got down on her knees beneath my desk and went to work. I ran my hands through her red hair as her head bobbed up and down and her mouth worked enthusiastically. Within a few moments, her expert tongue would bring me to climax and I'd shoot my load down her eager throat, and then watch as she picked up her files and went back to work.
This was the life, and I was living the dream every man wished for — only it hadn't come easily. I'd started working at 13 when my mother ran out on my father and me for another man. My father had been weak and couldn't take it. He turned to drinking and could never hold onto a job, so it was up to me if we were going to keep from starving out on the streets.
It was tough, but even though I was working full time, I still managed to keep top grades in school. One of my teachers noticed and recommended me for a special internship in the Business Leaders of Tomorrow program at his alma mater. My father had remarried by then, and I knew he'd be okay on his own, so I went ahead and applied, never thinking that I'd really get in — but I did.
They admitted me on full scholarship, and when the program was over, I was offered full-time employment at one of the nation's top manufacturers of engine parts: Krueger Auto Parts. Even without a fancy degree, I could do the job of running the shipping and manufacturing warehouses in every town I was sent to, and soon I was brought to work in their corporate headquarters in Los Angeles.
