6
I'd flown from Baton Rouge to New York and gotten back to my penthouse on 5th Avenue before breakfast.
Back to my life, after dealing with the tittering masses and intricate social dance that came with small town life.
Julian and Nate both owned businesses in Goldryn Bois but I had wanted to spread my wings. Julian was the proud owner of various clubs and bars; his strip club which he had named the Pink Sleeve was his favourite because the name always made Mother curdle like milk.
Nate was a tattoo artist and the one responsible for the phoenix on my left shoulder blade.
My personal assistant was frantic when I finally turned my phone on once I’d touched down in Manhattan. Poor Berry. Yes. Her name was Berry. Like Strawberry or Raspberry.
She was not a red head though. Which would have been amusing.
“The Gala for Bring Alice Home is tonight.” Berry reminded me. Her voice always grew higher in pitch the longer my silences were. I could tell I made her nervous. Everything made Berry nervous.
“Did you buy two plates?” I asked.
“Yes. Sasha asked what time you wanted to pick her up?” Berry's voice hitched as she tried to inject happiness in her tone.
I didn’t know why she tried. Sasha Simpson was a bitch. She gave good head though.
Rubbing my hand over my face, I imagined another woman with my cock in her mouth. A woman with dark hair and a sinful mouth.
“Mr Gold, is that alright?” Berry punctured my teenage boy-esque fantasies.
I made a not committal grunt which my PA took as a positive response and she hung up with a flowery goodbye.
I sat on the end of my bed and kicked off my shoes. Pepper Potts. Pepper fucking Potts.
She'd been on my mind all day.
There was only one thing for it. I opened up Netflix, selected Ironman and decided that I’d put her out of my mind the second the film was over.
Bring Alice Home was a charity run by Gerald and Kimberley Norde. Every year they held a Gala where they would spread awareness for their cause.
It was one of the many charities that I supported and my calendar was full of events every other week. The paid plates at each one ran into the tens of thousands.
Bring Alice Home raised money that went towards reuniting children who had been trafficked or kidnapped with their parents. The Norde family had lost their only child when she was about two years old. Stolen out of the back of their SUV whilst Mrs Norde put her groceries in the trunk. Over twenty years ago in Austin, Texas.
I sat in the back of my town car, idling outside of Sasha's apartment overlooking Central Park. I was Elliot Gold of Gold and Penn Acquisitions, just as soon as I’d set foot back in the city. I took over businesses for a living; I was world famous for my parting words as I fired people. It paid to be ruthless. Billions. I didn’t do it on purpose and I wasn’t trying to be funny when I told people that they were laid off. There was a list of my comebacks on a blog somewhere.
“I got a new car this weekend.”
“You may have a new car, but you don’t have a job.”
Most of the gaffs had been made when I was younger and joked to alleviate nerves.
If Mother ever Googled me, then I wouldn't be able to sit down for weeks. She'd have spanked me into another universe.
My work world was far removed from my small town life. It wasn’t an option to ride the subway in NYC. I had a bodyguard at all times.
Wearing my tux, I flipped through the emails on my phone as I waited for my date to arrive.
As if summoned by my thoughts, Sasha opened the car door and slid towards me. Her hair was arranged in an artful chignon that no doubt took hours to complete. I wouldn’t be able to put my fingers in her hair because of all of the bobby pins.
“Elliot, darling. I missed you.” Her voice was a husky drawl and she licked her painted lips. Her green eyes flicked to my crotch and she couldn’t have been more blatant if she tried.
“You missed my cock, you mean?” I said with a quirked brow.
“That too.” She tittered a seductive laugh. Sasha reached out, her limbs moved like a drowsy feline as her hand sprawled across my thigh.
“I saw your cover for sports illustrated.” I informed her. “Very nice.”
“Did it keep you warm at night?” She leaned in and whispered. Her breath tickled the shell of my ear.
I shivered for some reason, but not in the good way.
I laughed in response and patted her shoulder. The car pulled away and my driver informed her that we would be at the Gotham Hall in ten minutes.
“What’s wrong?” Sasha said. She had manoeuvred herself into my lap but my cock was not playing ball. She could feel my lack of excitement.
She slipped off my lap and knelt between my open thighs. Her hands gripped my legs as she licked her lips.
“I bet I can make you cum before we reach Gotham Hall.” She leaned in, as if she was letting me in on a secret.
Pepper's face flashed through my mind and I found myself shaking my head.
“I’m not in the mood.” I said brusquely.
Hurt slashed over Sasha's perfectly symmetrical features.
“It's not you, my gorgeous girl.” I assured her. “I’m tired from the plane.”
She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. The model slipped back into the buttery leather seat next to me and we rode to the event in silence.
“You're originally from Louisiana, aren't you, Elliot?” Marshall Penn was on the board at Gold and Penn Acquisitions and Mergers. Marshall wore a thousand-dollar suit but stunk out his corner office with cheap ramen noodles on his lunch break. He was a strange man.
I pushed my chair away from my desk. “Goldryn Bois.” I informed him with a grunt.
“That delightful town between Lafayette and Baton Rouge?” Marshall raised an eyebrow in surprise. He leant against my door frame and took a step into my office. Marshall Penn seemed to glide everywhere he went, almost as if he was in a daze. He had a business sense unlike any other. He could look at any company and tell you if it was worth it.
It was my job to make the rest happen.
“Why do you ask?” I gestured for Marshall to take a seat.
He pushed the back of his suit jacket out like he was wearing tails, but I’d grown used to Marshall's eccentricities.
“I have an opportunity that I’d like to discuss.” His eyes were always wide, like he was permanently surprised.
“Go on.”
“Tallahan and Toole have pulled out of a large real estate deal in Goldryn Bois. They've started construction just outside of town for a shopping mall.” Marshall nodded to himself. “Very lucrative. The nearest mall is about fifty miles out on the 603.”
“Is it just the land?” I asked.
“Building work has begun but Tallahan and Toole are shopping around for someone to buy the rights. They're going under.”
“It sounds good but I'd have to look at the paperwork.” I told him.
Marshall stood up abruptly with a stiff nod. “It’ll take you back home for a few months if you want to spearhead this thing?”
I picked up my pen and rolled it between my fingers. “I’ll let you know.” I assured him.
My door clicked shut as Marshall left. I rocked back on my chair and faced my floor to ceiling windows.
Did I want to go home?
My intercom beeped. It was Berry.
“Mr. Gold, I have your brother on the line.”
“Put him on.” I informed her.
Julian’s jovial voice rang out in my tastefully minimalistic office. “Yo, brother.”
“Julian.” I replied shortly.
“How’s the Windy City?”
“That’s Chicago. New York is the Big Apple.”
Julian clicked his tongue. “I have some news.”
“And it deserved a phone call instead of a Facebook update?” I teased.
“I'm getting married,” He informed me. “To Rina Langley.”