15. Ares
A res~
I employed only the best, so it wasn’t often that I had to travel because of a fuck-up, but that’s exactly what I had to do this afternoon.
Now, normally, it’d be the fuck-up that I’d be pissed about, and rightfully so; I didn’t handle major errors gracefully.
Nevertheless, that wasn’t what had me more annoyed than usual now.
Nope.
For the past week, I’d been returning home each night to my wife, and I’d been using her to erase the outside world, and it’d been working like some black magic that only Capri knew how to weave.
It was safe to say that I was already addicted to her, and that fact didn’t bother me as much as it should.
Addictions were weaknesses, and I wasn’t a weak man by any means.
However, Capri was a vulnerability that I didn’t mind having.
At any rate, my unexpected travel plans were the reason that I was riding the elevator at Martha Holdings right now. I wanted to let Capri know that I was going to be out of town for a few days, and because she did crazy things to me, I hadn’t wanted to tell her in text or over the phone.
After the elevator doors slid open, I made my way to her assistant’s desk, and as soon as she noticed me, she immediately straightened, and it was on the tip of my tongue to remind her that I wasn’t her boss.
I’d given Martha Holdings to Capri, and it’d been a simple matter of reversing the buyer/purchaser names on the original contract of sale.
“Is my wife available?” I asked, ignoring how much I liked those two little words.
“Uhm...yes,” she stammered. “I...uhm, let me call-”
“No need,” I instructed before heading to Capri’s office, knowing where it was as having been here before.
Doing my best not to overstep in front of her assistant, I knocked once before opening the door, proving that I had the ability to be professional and civil when the occasion called for it.
However, there was a fine line when you considered that I didn’t wait for Capri’s permission before I entered her office.
Capri looked up from her desk as I shut the door behind me, and not sure if it was just me or she was just having a bad day, but she didn’t look happy to see me.
Granted, I could be overestimating my talents in bed, but I’d left her legs trembling last night- as I did every fucking night -so she should be in better spirits was my way of thinking.
“What are you doing here?” she asked as she stood up from her chair.
“Okay, straight to the point,” I chuckled. “I have to fly to Chicago this afternoon. Work.”
“And?”
My brows rose with the coolness in her voice. “Well, seeing as how we’re married now, I thought that might be something you may need to know.”
“While I appreciate the gesture, I’m not the one that you should be informing,” she replied, taking me aback a bit.
“Your girlfriend is already upset enough that you married a complete stranger, so I recommend that you inform her of where you’re going to be at, and if you really want to make things right, maybe you can invite her to go along. ”
What in the actual fuck?
Irritation immediately slithered down my spine. “I’m sorry, what the fuck did you just say?”
Capri walked around her desk, then leaned against the wood as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Problem with your hearing?”
“Explain what you just said, and don’t fuck with me, Capri,” I warned. “I’m not in the mood.”
Her chin went up, and it was hard not to admire her gumption.
“I was having lunch today, and the blonde that you’ve been entertaining lately approached me, calling me a gold-digger and telling me how I’ll never be able to hold your interests for long.
” She shrugged like she was unaffected, and that bothered me more than her suggesting that I had a girlfriend.
“She was also kind enough to inform me of the last time that you guys spent together and how you’re just a phone call away in the future. ”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Hannah had been the one to approach her.
After all, I hadn’t been with anyone else in a while, thinking that Hannah had been the perfect arrangement, but I guess the joke was on me.
I had taken Hannah’s silence for acceptance, but if the news of my marriage had upset her enough to exchange words with Capri, then I really hadn’t been paying as close attention as I should have been.
Hannah had been a non-factor, and she shouldn’t have felt anything about my marrying Capri.
“Since I’ve never claimed to be a monk, it shouldn’t be a surprise that I’ve been with other women, Capri,” I told her, doing my best to keep my voice even.
“And, yes, the woman before you had been recent. However, I haven’t looked at another woman since the day that you stormed into my office.
” I eyed her, feeling myself getting angrier with each word. “Much less touched another woman.”
“Your sex life is none of my business, Ares,” she replied coldly, and it was the wrong thing to say. “All I ask is that you tell your girlfriend or girlfriends not to accost me in public, especially when there’s no need.”
I stepped to her until she had to drop her arms and lean back a bit to maintain eye contact.
“I don’t know what the fuck you think this is, but I do not have a girlfriend or any other women on the side,” I hissed down at her.
“And the fact that I have to even say that is pissing me off in a way that should worry you, Capri.”
“Oh, really?” she drawled out sarcastically, basically throwing my threat back in my face, and she really didn’t know when she should be cautious.
Letting my anger control me, I reached out, slid my hand underneath her skirt, then cupped her between her legs, the heat from her pussy nearly sidetracking me.
“This is mine,” I reminded her. “In every fucking way that matters, your pussy is mine. So, why in the fuck would I need to look elsewhere when I have this on tap?”
“You say that like infidelity doesn’t exist,” she shot back.
“Between us, it doesn’t,” I informed her. “So help me God, it better not ever exist between us.”
“Not sure what you’re upset about,” she replied aloofly. “Strange men aren’t approaching you, telling you how good I suck dick, are they?”
The image of that had me seeing red. “If they want to keep breathing, they won’t.”
Ignoring that, she said, “Just keep your girlfriends away from me, Ares. I’m not like them. I don’t screw men for purses, trips to the Caribbean, or whatever else gold-diggers need to make them feel better about themselves.”
Fuck this.
As much as I cared about her, I was done being the good guy. I had no problem paying for my sins, but I was done paying for Drummond Cohen’s sins. I was done letting her think something that wasn’t true. She could hate me for forcing her to marry me, but not for the reasons that she believed.
“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong, baby,” I told her, my fingers sliding over the gusset of her panties. “After all, you didn’t exactly marry me for love, did you?”
Her blue eyes lit with a stunning kind of fury. “I married you to save my grandfather’s company.”
“No, you didn’t,” I finally told her as I removed my hand from between her legs. “TCC acquired Martha Holdings legally and morally.”
“Bullshit,” she spat.
“Your father has a gambling problem, Capri,” I announced callously.
“He’s done a good job of hiding it from everyone, but that’s why TCC was able to come in and buy Martha Holdings.
It was only a matter of weeks before the truth came out, so instead of letting his little secret come to light, he took our offer, making up lies about how TCC had the investment power to bankrupt Martha Holdings.
” She immediately began shaking her head, refusing to believe me.
“If you hadn’t been so emotionally involved, you would have seen for yourself how ridiculous your father’s explanation had been. ”
“You’re lying,” she snarled. “My father would never gamble away Martha Holdings’ future.”
“Ask him,” I dared her. “Ask him if it’s true.”
She looked beautifully furious, but that was because common sense was beginning to sink in. Capri knew that I had no reason to lie, especially when I was daring her to confront her father. At this point, what would I gain by doing that? I wouldn’t win anything by lying to her, and she knew it.
“You’re lying,” she repeated, only she didn’t sound as confident as she’d had just a few seconds ago.
“So, by your own accounts, you are a gold-digger,” I went on, shattering her illusions some more. “Your price just comes in the form of an office building, not purses or trips to the Caribbean.”
I should have seen it coming.
Especially, considering how I deserved it.
Nevertheless, the slap was hard enough to snap my face sideways, and the stinging sensation raced down my neck like a flame burning bright.
Game on.