Chapter 12

Aidan

I’d just pulled up outside her apartment when I saw her open the door to the man outside and then I watched as her face came over with what could only be described as a look of terror, followed by the guy pushing her and heading into the apartment. I rushed out of the car and up those steps like a man possessed and don’t ask me where the strength came from but I kicked that door straight off its hinges.

The guy had Lori pinned to the wall, one hand around her neck and another making its way up the leg of her skirt. Red mist descended on my vision and I yanked him away and punched him in the nose, blood splattering all around us.

“You fucking cunt, you broke my nose.” His muffled voice complained while he tried to hold himself together.

A man shouted from the doorway. “I’m phoning the cops.”

“Yes, please do.” I shouted back. “We need assistance.”

“The cops can’t find me. They’ll put me back inside.” The guy said.

“You should have thought of that before you came here.” I growled out. “What’s his name, other than scum?” I asked Lori, noting that my girl was shivering.

“Dexter.” She managed to get out.

“Now here’s the thing, Dexter.” I said to him. “You try to take me down with you for assault and I’ll make sure that in prison your asshole becomes the size of the moon with all the boyfriends you’re going to get. You understand me? You’re going to plead guilty and say you deserved all this like a good boy and then when you eventually get back out of jail, I will have one of my associates meet you. They will set you up someplace far away from Lori and if you ever come within a city of her, you’ll find yourself under a concrete slab and no one will ever know where you went.”

“Okay. I get it. I get it.” The wimp said. It was clear he was only any good at intimidating women. The lowest of the low and the truth was I was making this shit up as I went along. Though no doubt my money could buy such arrangements, I preferred to keep my business legit and above board, but Dexter wasn’t to know that. I would make sure that we knew his whereabouts at all times though and a little money to make sure he lived far away from us in the future to me was money well spent.

Before long the cops came and arrested Dexter and took him away and then I folded Lori in my arms and held her while she shook and sobbed.

“What do I do?” Lori said to me. “He’s probably not the only creep who’s going to come tracking down Lorenza LaBelle.”

“Just stay there, one moment.” I told her. “Don’t worry, I’m only going to the car down the steps. I’ll be thirty seconds maximum.”

When I’d retrieved what I wanted, I came back through the door.

Lori looked up at me, “Oh thank God, you brought my shoes back. They were one of my favorite pairs. I was gutted I could have lost them.”

“You have a rich boyfriend who would have bought you another pair.” I laughed.

“Is that what you are now? My boyfriend.” She smiled, and it was like being given a million dollars after the stresses of just an hour before.

“Well, I kinda need to see if these shoes fit your feet, because my princess ran out of the club and I need to make sure it was definitely you.” I slipped both her shoes on. “Hmmm, later, Miss Jenkins, I want to fuck you with you wearing only these.” I winked. “Or should I say girlfriend, I wanna fuck you so damn bad, but not right now. Right now we have things to do.”

“Like what?” She said.

“Like we need to get you moved to New Jersey. Now I know you might have sorted somewhere to live, but I was thinking we could get a place together and I could come visit, a lot.”

“What about your businesses?” She asked.

“Well, that’s why I had an urgent meeting this morning.” I told her. “I realized that Ashley was doing far more for me than a simple Assistant role, so this morning I made her my Deputy Manager. She just received a jaw dropping, but well deserved pay rise. GoDown has a Manager too, Connor, so I shall step back a little. They’re still my babies and I still want to expand on everything, but maybe it’s time to live a little as well as work. I can make sure that some nights when my girlfriend has worked hard at college all day and needs to study that I’ve made her a nice home-cooked meal and then I can help her relax.”

“Wow, this is all just happening so fast.”

“We can take it as slow as you like, Lori. There is no rush. I’m going nowhere. If you need your space, you got it. If you want to rent your own place because it makes you feel better, then I’ll step back, do it. I know this is about more than just a career, it’s about your identity and finding your strength.”

“I love you, Aidan Hall.” She told me and my heart skipped a beat. I realized at that moment I was as pussy-whipped as Mr. Carter and was about to get a whole heap of revenge talk leveled at me from him. He could bring it. I was in love and didn’t give a damn.

“I love you too.” I told her. “Now the Lorenza Labelle issue. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I said I was trying to bring everything out mainstream. I’ll get my team to set up interviews with certain trusted press if you are willing and we’ll get the point across that women can own their bodies and do what they wish with them. Why can a man sleep with lots of women and be a stud, but a woman chooses to share her body for her career and she’s some kind of whore? It’s time to challenge those perceptions, babe.”

She placed her lips against my own and we shared a long deep kiss. This did nothing for my rock hard cock but she’d just had quite a shock and we needed to take it slow.

“So, this place in New Jersey,” she told me. “If you didn’t want the boat, I kinda didn’t pay for it yet, so the money could go towards a place. Maybe, you know, pay for a window of our gigantic mansion.”

“You want a big place?”

“Well it seems kinda stupid to date a billionaire and live in a studio apartment. I guess I just need it to be near school.”

“We can have a driver take you there too.”

“And of course I’ll need all the equipment for my new career.”

“Done.”

She bursts out laughing. “I’m joking.”

“Well, I’m not. I’m getting you all that and more and you’re just going to have to damn well get used to it because you’re the girlfriend of a billionaire now.”

“The billionaire and the bartender.” She laughed.

I shut her up with yet another kiss.