CHAPTER TWELVE - SEBASTIAN
Jessica wasn't lying. She had pictures, which she'd printed out just for us. She passed them through the door before leaving, shaking her ass as if to tease me as she walked away. As if I ever desired to see that ass again. Well, if she ever thought there was a chance of us getting back together, what she'd done had ruined those chances entirely. Jessica knew how to burn bridges on her way out the door.
“I'm sorry, Violet,” I said, looking down at one of the photos from last night, one that showed I was clearly between her legs, eating her out. “I'm so, so sorry.”
Violet remained quiet as she looked at the photos, but I could tell it worried her. It worried me too, to be honest. Not just because it could look bad from a business standpoint, but because Violet's mother was a close friend of mine, and I didn't want her to see me as some dirty old man who was screwing her daughter.
“What does Jessica want from us?” she finally asked. “What does she want to not release the photos?”
“She didn't say, but I'm sure she'll be in touch.”
Violet nodded, again, still not saying much. She just sat there with a shell-shocked look on her face and my heart went out to her.
“We need to go soon,” I said, glancing at the clock.
Violet nodded again, dropping the photograph she was holding. “I still need to shower.”
“Me too,” I said. “But maybe it's better if I shower over in my own room.”
Violet looked up at me, her eyes filled with hurt. She didn't argue though, instead she just nodded as a look of sadness and resignation crossed her face.
“That's fine,” she murmured.
I kissed her forehead before leaving the room, making sure the door locked behind me. With a sigh, I walked along the bridge that led to my room, my mind a maelstrom of conflicting emotions. And when I looked up, I was not surprised in the least to see Jessica sitting outside of my bungalow with her feet dangling over the edge of the bridge, letting the ocean water swirl around her ankles.
A dark and abiding rage boiled inside of me when I saw her there. She sat there with her back to me, still managing to look like she owned the place; looking like she thought she deserved to be there. I knew this was her way of surprising me and in some dark, twisted part of her brain, she probably thought it was a romantic gesture. But I'd made it plain as day that I didn't want to be with her – or see her ever again. The girl had issues and this took things way too far.
“I've always wanted to see Bali,” she said, speaking without looking up at me. “I just never knew I'd be seeing it under such trying circumstances.”
“What did you expect, Jessica?” I sneered. “I told you we were through.”
She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “Yes, but you also told me that little tramp was nothing more than your assistant. Well, guess what? I have photographic proof that you lied about that.”
“I didn't lie,” I said, clenching my jaw as I tried to control my rage. “We aren't dating. Last night was the first time anything happened. Not that I owe you an explanation. I told you that we were done. Several times.”
“No, of course you don't owe me an explanation,” she said softly. “I get now that we're over. I see it clearly now for the first time. You've moved on.”
“I moved on a long time ago, Jessica.”
She looked out at the ocean and wiped at her eyes, obviously not wanting me to see that she was crying. I felt bad for hurting her, but really, how much clearer could I have been? And the fact that she was snooping around, taking secret pictures of me and Violet, she had gone way too far.
“You know, all this time, I thought that maybe I could fix things. Maybe somehow get you to love me again,” she said softly. “But clearly, that's not going to happen. You've moved on to someone younger and prettier.”
“It's not like that,” I said.
I hated for anyone to think it was just about Violet's age or her looks. She was a lot more than that. She meant more to me than that, and to dismiss all of it and claim I was only after someone younger and prettier than she was, royally pissed me off. But I didn't want to cause a scene, and if possible, I wanted to defuse the situation entirely. Maybe make Jessica reconsider what she was doing with those pictures.
“We were no good together. Not for a long while,” I said. “Besides, it became pretty clear that you were using me for my money, Jessica. That was it.”
“No, Sebastian. Believe it or not, I loved you,” she said, her eyes filled with unshed ears. “I still love you.”
“You're only in love with my money,” I said. “We were never good together as two loving, caring people.”
“That's not what you used to say when I was the one you were fucking,” she said. “You used to tell me I was your world.”
“Because you were at one time,” I said. “But that changed once things between us got a little more real and we started to see each other for who we really were.”
The fact that I had to explain this to her again was killing me. We'd had these discussions before, countless times. I couldn't handle the clinginess, the neediness, the jealousy. Her pettiness and snobby attitude also turned me off more than I could say.
When we first met, she'd seemed like a different girl. She'd been kind, compassionate, confident. But as time wore on, I saw that it was all just a facade she had constructed. A mask she'd worn. She was nothing like that girl I'd met. And I started to feel like yeah, maybe she'd pretended to be someone she wasn't just to get me into bed and become part of my life.
The longer our relationship dragged on, the more I felt used by her. She always wanted to go on the expensive vacations, always needed the shopping trips, and the fancy dinners out. Everything about our relationship became what I could do for her or buy for her, not what we could bring to each other's lives.
That was exactly why I loved spending time with Violet. None of that material stuff mattered to her. Each time I did something nice for her, it was a surprise and something she appreciated. It wasn't something she expected or demanded.
With Jessica, things had to keep getting bigger or more lavish. She demanded the finest things from the most expensive places, otherwise she grew bored and pouted. I eventually grew tired of it, and it basically ruined everything between us. I finally saw her for who she really was – a gold digger.
She looked at me and though there were tears still shining in her eyes, there was a defiance and an anger in them as well.
“Well, I guess the rest of the world is finally going to be able to see who you really are too, Sebastian,” she said. “As you know, I have contacts in the media and I'm sure they'd love to hear my story. The story of how you, the greedy CEO tossed me aside for someone younger and prettier. Yeah, feminism is all the rage these days, and don't be surprised if women stop coming to your resorts or staging protests and boycotts once they hear about how you truly feel about us. We're nothing more than disposable toys to you.”
Gritting my teeth, I tried so hard to keep my cool. By “contacts in the media,” what she really meant to say was that she had friends who worked for those trashy supermarket checkout line tabloids. If she went running to them with this, they would do a hatchet job on me that would be brutal. I really doubted it would have any lasting impact on my company in the long term, but in the short term, it would create a lot of embarrassment and headaches. Not to mention, it would wreak havoc on Violet and our budding romance.
“None of that is true and you know it,” I said. “Again, what happened with Violet had nothing to do with her age. And it had nothing to do with you. We're two consenting adults.”
Jessica shrugged, pulling her feet from the water and put her shoes back on. “If you say so, Sebastian,” she said. “But that's not the way I see it. And I'm not so sure Violet can handle the backlash that's going to come from this, especially not so soon after her poor daddy's death.”
“Leave her out of this,” I hissed. “I'm warning you, Jessica.”
“I'll leave both of you out of this and turn over all copies of the pictures to you on one condition,” she said.
I sighed, knowing where this was likely going. “What condition, Jessica?”
“You cut things off with the little tramp, Sebastian,” she said, her voice firm. “Immediately.”
“She's not – ”
“Whore, trollop, whatever,” Jessica said flippantly. “Whatever she is, you cut things off with her and neither these pictures nor my story will never see the light of day.”
“I'm never coming back to you, Jessica,” I said. “Not even if I cut things off with Violet.”
“Oh, I know that now,” she said with a smile. “But if I have to hurt, I want you to hurt too. And if it means hurting your poor, sweet little Violet, then so be it. I'll do whatever it takes to ruin both of your lives and make you as fucking miserable as I am right now.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“No, sweetie,” she said, in that condescending tone of voice of hers that I hated so much. “It's not a threat. It's a promise. Now enjoy the rest of your trip. I've booked the bungalow down at the end so we're neighbors. Maybe we'll run into each other. We can have drinks and catch up.”
She sauntered down the dock and entered a bungalow not too far from us. I felt the need to punch something, anything, but without the risk of breaking something on my property that I'd have to explain. I also had to get ready. Paula and Steve were expecting us, and I had work to do. I'd have to handle Jessica, and Violet after that.