by Helen Vera
“Your obsession with swords is kind of cute.”
“Cute?” He raises an offended eyebrow. “No one’s ever used this word to describe me before.”
“Well, you are cute. In a very manly way of course.” I tease him. “Like a cute tiger or a wolf.”
“Vivian, if you call me cute one more time...”
“You’ll spank me? I know, I know. You’ve been saying this for the past week, yet that ping pong paddle is still in my bedside drawer, lonely and unemployed.” I tease him.
“Oh you little minx.” He smacks me lightly on the ass before glancing down at his Rolex. “Fuck. I need to get going.” He kisses me passionately and opens the door. “Do you still have that Nespresso machine in the waiting area?”
“Yep. We moved it to that corner table next to the window.” I point to our new sturdy IKEA table.
He thanks me and heads over to the machine. I shut the door to avoid ogling him in front of my new secretary. Lately, she’s been driving me crazy with her absent-mindedness.
I walk over to my desk and pull out a new notebook from the bottom drawer. Jax totally made my day with his surprise visit. Having him around makes me feel safe and fuzzy on the inside.
The door suddenly swings open and bangs loudly against the wall. It startles the hell out of me.
Steven Bradshaw storms into my office like a raging bull. I swear I can see smoke coming out of his ears. He’s beyond angry.
“You signed a paper saying you WON’T speak to the press!” He yells. “Now thanks to your big mouth, our law firm is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. We are already losing clients who want nothing to do with this media circus. You have turned this into a clusterfuck of epic proportions!” The vein in his forehead looks like it’s about to explode. Of course, I have no idea what the hell he’s talking about.
“Okay, first of all, I did not speak to the press, and second of all, how dare you barge in here and throw accusations at me?”
He pinches the bridge of his nose and walks over to the small television hanging on the wall. He looks like he’s about to burst.
“Christ, do you even watch the news?” He glares at me.
“No. Unlike you, I’m a single mother who barely has time to watch anything.” I retort, crossing my arms in front of my chest. What an asshole.
He grabs the remote and turns on the television. “Here. See for yourself.” He turns up the volume. “Do you see the disastrous headline?”
The local news is discussing the latest update on Andrew’s murder, but the caption below reads: Murdered Lawyer: Abusive and Unfaithful.
“Steven. I had nothing to do with this.”
“Then who else blabbed to the media about Andrew?”
Oh God. Sue.
“I-I have no idea,” I tell him. “Now please get out of my office before I call the cops.” I threaten him. My new secretary’s standing outside next to Mr. Evans who looks like he’s about to faint.
I wait for him to leave and kindly ask Mr. Evans to reschedule his appointment.
My stomach is in knots as I dial Sue’s number. “Come on Sue, pick up.”
My phone vibrates and a new message shows up in my notifications box. I quickly open it.
“I’m so sorry I lied to the press.” I read my best friend’s message and my heart sinks like a stone. What the hell is she talking about? Does she think I’m mad at her? Is this why she’s not answering her damn phone? I try calling her again, but my call goes straight to voicemail.
“Shit. Shit.” I feel sick to my stomach as I grab my bag and rush over to Maggie. I tell her to cancel all of my appointments for the day. There’s something incredibly fishy about that text. Every fiber of my being is telling me to find Sue and make sure she’s okay.
My Uber driver arrives in less than three minutes. I dive into the back seat and tap my heels restlessly on the floor. Sue’s apartment is ten minutes away, but traffic is a bitch. I try calling her again but she refuses to pick up. I know Sue. She never misses a call from me unless she’s on another continent.
I take deep, calming breaths and get out of the car. I walk the rest of the way instead of wasting more time stuck in New York’s ugly traffic. It stopped raining, but the clouds look dark and angry. I press the intercom button but she does not respond. I try it a second time, but still no answer.
I suddenly realize that the main door to the building is open. In fact, it looks like someone placed a small brick to prevent it from closing. I enter the building and take the elevator to the fifth floor. The neon lights flicker on and off as I walk down the hallway to Sue’s apartment. My heart feels like it’s about to jump out of my chest. I try her number again, and her phone rings from inside her apartment. I can hear it loud and clear. It’s almost like her door is open.
Oh God. The door to her apartment is open. “Sue?!”
I glance around the first floor which is home to her antique vases and artwork. Her open kitchen is spotless with a rainbow of post-it notes covering the fridge. I call out her name again, but she’s nowhere to be found. I climb up the staircase to the second floor. Silence fills the air as I quietly head over to her bedroom.
“Sue. This is so not funny.” Tears fill my eyes.
I stand in the doorway, afraid of what I might find.
“Sue?”
I walk past the walk-in closet and look over to my right. “Oh God.”
She’s in bed, eyes closed with a peaceful expression on her face. She looks like she’s fast asleep. I approach the bed slowly, feeling incredibly sick to my stomach. My hands are shaking now that I see the empty bottle of sleeping pills on the mattress.
No. No. This must be a nightmare. This is not real. None of this is real.
I reach out to touch her arm and her skin is cold as ice. My heart drops faster than a roller-coaster. I shake her arm and beg her to wake up, but her eyes are still closed. “Sue. Don’t you dare leave me! Do you hear me?” Tears cloud my eyes as I check her pulse.
Nothing.
I open my bag, barely keeping it together and dial 911. In the meantime, I focus on keeping her warm, covering her body with the duvet. She looks so pale and fragile.
The medics arrive in less than five minutes. I watch them check her pulse. I hear them say that she’s been gone a while. They cover her face with the duvet and I hear them mention the word suicide. The word rings in my ear over and over. I lean against the wall in total and utter shock. One of the medics rushes over to me. She asks if I’m okay, but I scream at her to save my best friend. I’m hysterical, crying and shouting. I hear the male paramedic say that she’s been dead for at least an hour.
“No! No!” I sit on the floor, shaking and crying. I refuse to believe that my best friend is gone. We’re supposed to grow old together. The woman tries to calm me down, but I push her away. I want Sue to hug me and tell me that she’s never going to leave me. She promised me she’d stay in my life forever. How can she break that promise?
“This is not happening.”
‘Miss, please let me help you.”
“This is a bad dream. This is just a bad dream.”
I close my eyes and shut everything out.
27
JAX
This week has been the very definition of hell.
It kills me to see Vivian like this, staring into space with tears falling down her face. She’s been crying for two days now. Her bloodshot eyes are swollen and drowning in grief. I have no idea how to make things better. I made her favorite bolognese pasta for lunch, but she refuses to eat. I even drove Lucy to daycare to give her a bit of space. I came back to find her in the same fetal position, staring blankly at the wall.
This is so fucked up. I should have been there when Vivian found her dead friend.
“Why did Sue kill herself? She was going to Disneyland.” Vivian says. She’s been repeating the same sentence over and over again for the past twenty-four hours. “She made plans. Why would she make plans if she
knew she was going to die?”
I crouch in front of her chair and rub her thighs. She finally looks me in the eye, silently begging me for an answer that will ease her mind. I shake my head, not knowing what to say. I just know that this was no ordinary suicide. I went to her apartment that fateful day to pick up Vivian. The paramedics found my number and called me when she fainted. I remember walking in to find a suitcase by the door. Why would anyone pack a suitcase and book a flight to Orlando and then commit suicide three days later? None of this made any sense.
The police say they have no reason to suspect foul play, but I have a feeling that she was murdered. My instincts tell me that her death has something to do with Andrew Caldwell’s case.
“Babe, did Sue know about the gun and the unapproved construction papers?”
“Yes.” Vivian nods. “I showed her the safe and everything in it. She knows...she knew just as much as you do.” She wipes her tears away and squeezes my hand. “Jax. If you know something, please tell me.”
Fuck.
Whoever killed Sue must have thought that she knew more about the case. They wanted to shut her up at any cost. “Babe, I only know what the coroner told me. Sue died of an overdose. Now please give yourself a break from crying and come have lunch with me.”
She shakes her head no and lets go of my hand. “I’m not hungry.”
“Vivian. You need to be strong for your kid.” I use Lucy as an incentive, but she gets even more defensive and tells me to go eat and leave her alone.
“Fine. Have it your way.” I mutter.
I get up and head over to the kitchen where I fill up a plate with spaghetti. Ironically, the weather is perfect today. The sun is shining through the French windows like we’re in the middle of spring. I grab the plate and return to the living room. Vivian is still sitting there like a zombie. I have no appetite for food, but maybe if I eat in front of her, she’ll change her mind and ask to be fed. She finally caves in and takes a bite of pasta. I smile and feed her the entire plate.
I grab a tissue and wipe the sauce from the corner of her pouty lips. She finally looks at me; really looks at me “Thank you for being here. You’re all I have left.” Her voice cracks and it breaks my fucking heart.
She starts crying again and it breaks my fucking heart. I hold her in my arms and kiss her disheveled hair. She sobs and tells me how she misses Sue and how she can’t picture living her life without her best friend and sister. I’m torn between anger and sadness. Part of me wants to stay with Vivian and console her, but the other part wants to lash out and destroy those responsible for her misery. I know I promised her to stay out of trouble, but I silently contemplate breaking this promise.
I carry her over to the couch and sit by her side. She buries her face in my chest and wraps her left arm around me. I grab the remote control and turn on the TV in search of a distraction. Vivian raises her head to look at the screen. Unfortunately, the local news channel is the first thing that appears. Andrew is making headlines once again. This time, the shameless local media chose a horrible caption that prompts me to change the channel.
“No! Please Jax. I need to watch the news.”
She snatches the remote from my hand and puts the news back on. “Vivian, don’t...”
My voice trails off as I watch her read the caption. “Murdered Lawyer Caldwell: Suicide of Secret Lover. What the hell are they talking about?” She turns up the volume and listens to the news anchor. “Who fed them this bullshit?” She gets up from the couch, dragging her long robe behind her. “Are you listening to this crap?”
She paces back and forth in front of the TV. I get up and try to calm her down, but she stares at the screen in anger and disbelief. “She’s lying! These are all lies! Sue was a lesbian for God’s sake. Everyone who knew her knows this!” She yells at the television. “Sue freaking hated Andrew. She hated him for years. I should have listened to her and ditched his ass ages ago, but no, I was too afraid of what people would say. I’m such a coward, Jax.”
“No, you’re not.” I hold her face in my firm hands to stop her from moving. “There is nothing cowardly about you. You are one hell of a woman. Vivian.”
“Stop telling me what I want to hear.” She tries to get away, but I spin her around and trap her against my chest. “Let me go.” She demands. “Please.” Her soft voice cracks.
“No. Not on my watch.” I whisper in her ear. “Stop feeling fucking sorry for yourself.”
“Or what? You’ll spank me?” Her bitter sarcasm turns me on. She tries to wiggle away from me, but I squeeze her tighter, afraid of letting go. “I said let me go you big buffoon!”
“What did you just call me?”
She repeats the same ridiculous words and swings her leg backward in a failed attempt to kick me. My little doll is surprisingly strong for her size. I lift her off the carpeted floor and listen to her call me all sorts of funny names. “Listen to me you..”
I cover her mouth with my hand. “No you listen to me you cock slut. If you keep this up, I will punish you. I fucking mean it. Do I make myself clear?”
She bites into my skin hard enough to leave a mark. I grab her by the waist and spin her around. Her face is flushed and her eyes are wild as fuck. I ignore the pain in my hand and wrap her long hair around my fist and tug her head back. “Yes. Surrender to your anger, let it flow through your fucking veins.”
She looks at me like she wants to kill me. “Fuck you.”
I want to take her pain away, at least for a few minutes. She needs this just as much as I do. “Ready when you’re, Babe” I tug on her hair and she flinches. “Get down or your knees. Now.”
She staggers backward when I let go of her. I brace myself for another temper tantrum, but she turns around and gets down on her hands and knees. She turns her head and shoots daggers at me. My dick hardens at the sight of her all pissed and hungry for my cock.
I crouch down behind her and deliver a sharp smack to her plump ass. “That’s my good girl” I pull her pants and underwear down her legs and force her to spread them wide. Her pink pussy’s already wet for me. She looks down, embarrassed by how horny she is. It’s been days since I’ve been inside that tight little cunt.
I squeeze her ass and she bites down on her bottom lip. “Let me hear you.” I massage her smooth back, sliding her sweater out of the way. “Take this fucking thing off.”
I unzip my jeans and pull my polo shirt over my head. She gets rid of her bra and feasts her hungry eyes on my torso. “What are you staring at?” I smirk.
She licks her lips and twists her upper body to touch me, but I force her to face the front and tie her wrists behind her back using my leather belt. She moans when I knead and pinch her nipples. “Make me feel good. Please Jax.”
I stroke my hard cock and tease her clit with my fat tip. “Please what?”
“I want you in me.” She pants.
“Say it out loud.” I grab her shoulders and grind her pussy against my dick.
“I want you to fuck me!”
Her little voice is music to my ears. I keep a tight grip on her shoulders and slam into her wet pussy. She moans and rests her forehead on the carpet below. “Say it again,” I grunt.
“Fuck me.” She begs.
I watch the way her cunt swallows my cock, taking me all the way in like a ravenous whore. Her tight walls wrap around my tip, begging me to fucking pound into her harder and faster. I wrap her long hair around my fist again and force her to look at the antique mirror in the corner. “Open your eyes and watch me destroy your little angry cunt.”
She moans and watches me slide out of her pussy, slowly, teasingly. Her skin glistens with sweat and we haven’t even started yet. “Look at you, all hot and bothered for me. Do you want me to fuck you raw?”
She nods. I put my hands back on her shoulders and slam into her pussy. She’s drenched in arousal, making my movements fluid and easy. The smacking sounds of our intense fucking fill the room as I drill her into the
carpet. My muscles clench with every hard thrust as I pound her hard and fast. Her ass cheeks turn into ripe tomatoes as I smack them over and over. I unbuckle my belt from around her wrists and her arms fall to her sides. She uses them to sit up on her elbows and watch me tear her pussy up. I turn my attention to her swollen clit, smacking it a few times. She screams my name and squeezes her sweet pussy around my cock. The sensation triggers pleasurable jolts down my spine. I keep up my steady pace and reach forward to grab her swaying breasts. She arches into me and fucks me back with her cunt.
“Yes. Fuck yourself on my cock.” I massage her red ass cheeks and watch her take her own pleasure. I pinch and knead her perky tits and close my eyes. Fuck. I need her to cum.
