Chapter 31

Brad takes the phone call from his investment banker. “Yes… uh huh… no. What? That can’t be. What kind of nut bar would do something like that? Okay, keep me posted.” He hangs up the phone and then immediately calls his lawyer.

“John, It’s Brad here. Big time stuff going on. Some chick is trying to sue me. You gotta get me out of this mess,” says Brad. “No, I don’t know her. I don’t think I do. You know me, it could be anyone, really. I’ve never been married, damn it.”

Brad begins to sweat, feeling panicked. He hasn’t felt this way since a potential takeover fiasco that happened when Brad was 19 and messed things up for his dad. He was so angry then and deeply disappointed in himself. He felt like someone took advantage of him because he was young and naïve.

Now he has to deal with this woman who is trying to make a court claim that he’s been skipping out on child support for the past 10 years, and falsely identifying herself as an ex-wife. What the hell? He apparently can’t go back to the States because he will be arrested upon arrival. This is pure insanity.

Brad paces back and forth while on the phone waiting for John to get back on.

“Yes, I’m here. What’s the news?” Brad demands. “Okay. So just stay here on the island? You’ll sort it out? Okay, I’ll have to trust you on this one, John.”

Brad hangs up the phone.

Shit. What the hell am I going to tell Jane? And what if this drags on for months? She’ll think I’m a lunatic and that I’ve lied to her.

Brad goes back and forth with different scenarios. He doesn’t know what to do so he goes over to the bar and orders a scotch on the rocks. He throws it back and it calms his nerves. He can’t think of anything else but this.

He decides to go to the hot tub to settle down before lunch. He doesn’t want Jane to see him this way. He goes to get his swimming shorts and bathrobe, then heads to the hot tub.

He doesn’t see Jane anywhere and, in a way, he is relieved.

He takes his robe and sandals off, goes over to the tub, and sinks down to rest in it. He falls back and closes his eyes, wanting this mess to go away. He can hear the lapping of the sea in the background, and he remembers he is safe. He will be fine.

John has never let him down before. Even that time when someone was trying to frame him for the murder of a prostitute. He has had to deal with shit like this from crazy people before. He can’t let this get him down, he just has to be patient and let his attorney get it resolved. He lays there in the hot tub and feels his muscles relax.

He hears the door open and he glances up. There is a gorgeous, blonde woman walking his way. She had huge tits and a firm body, clothed only in a red bikini. She bends over, deliberately showing off her ass in front of Brad while she takes off her sandals.

Brad lies back, playing it cool and trying not to look at her. She lies on a lawn chair behind him. Normally, before Jane, Brad would have been all over her. He would have locked eyes with her when she walked in and started a conversation by now, inviting her in to join him.

Brad knows how all of this would have gone down, because he knows how to get women to take their clothes off for him. It’s kind of like his best magic trick. This time, though, it’s her trying to start the conversation.

“Hey, I haven’t seen you here before,” she says. “What’s your name?”

“Brad. I haven’t seen you here before either,” he replies. “What’s your name?”

“Ella,” she says in a smooth way.

“Are you on your own here, Brad?” she asks, “Cause I am. Would you mind some company?”

“Well, actually I’m staying here with someone,” Brad tries to explain, feeling a bit uneasy and guilty.

“Oh well, I’m sure she won’t mind if you and I become friends,” she says, as she steps unabashedly into the hot tub.

Her abs are tight, her thighs even tighter. In the past, he would have gone right up to her and bit her bikini bottoms off, pulling them down with his teeth so he could get right down to business.

This time, he’s not feeling it. He just wishes it was Jane’s body in front of him. He wants her small, perky tits, and her thin, sweet and tender body.

Ella sits next to him and starts stroking his leg. Brad moves her hand away. She tries to kiss and suck his neck. But he pulls away.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I thought you were wanting something more,” she says. “My mistake.”

Ella gets up out of the hot tub and grabs her things. Brad sits there in the tub and throws his head back again.

Jesus Christ, Brad. What the fuck is wrong with you? You did it again, he tells himself.

He looks up and sees Jane at the door for a split second before she turns and rushes away. He wonders how long she was there and how much she saw.

“Ah, shit,” Brad mutters. He falls back into the hot tub and soaks it all in. “This has to be one of the worst days ever.”