Part of me wished I had not binned the donuts and the other part of me sneered at my own weakness and desire to please her.
“I haven’t had iced coffee in a while. Thank you.” She smiled at me softly.
I could feel myself falling all over again for her and that irritated me. I inclined my head politely. “You have some documents for me to look over?”
It was like a shutter came over her face and she dropped her eyes. “Yes. Yes, I do.”
She reached into her bag and withdrew a folder which she slid across the desk. I took the folder and opened it. As I perused it for a few minutes, I could feel her eyes on me. My face remained blank throughout. I had to give it to her though: the records were impeccably done. If this were a pitch for a loan, she would have gotten it with very little trouble. But I had to remind myself that this was not supposed to be made easy for her.
“As you can see, we’ve gone to great pains to secure the most reasonable costs for material, labor and equipment.”
I fixed my gaze on her and she shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “You mean cheap.”
She frowned. “Affordable.”
“Why not just get things done properly so that they will last longer. This is a serious investment.”
Her frown deepened. “Investment? It’s a donation. An investment makes it seem as though you will have some returns to get.”
“I would like to ensure that my money does not go to waste and then you’re back at square one in a couple years putting on fairs to renovate the computer lab once more. So, I think it would be wise to make sure the effects of this… investment is long-term.” I raised an eyebrow. “Second-hand computers?”
Her shoulders squared defensively. “We don’t have the money to buy new, apart from the ones that have been donated. All they require is a software upgrade.”
“They require much more than that and I’m perfectly happy to pay for extra costs.”
She blinked with surprise, then a look of fear or was it caution came over her face. My little Sapphire knew things were getting too good to be true.
“Look,” she began, “I didn’t come here for you to undo months of legwork and elimination in sifting through the options. Nor do we wish for you to undo the various contracts and agreements that we have made with those who will be doing the work and providing the equipment. All I need is a check for the balance, please.”
“And you think I’m just going to write a check for a hundred thousand dollars, almost a third of your budget, and not have a say in how it is spent? Think again, Sapphire. I think you’re more intelligent than that.”
“Why the fuck did you make a pledge you have no intention of honoring, Zade?”
That struck a nerve and I clenched my jaw. My word was something I had never reneged on in my life and I was not about to start now. But neither was I going to allow Sapphire to know that she had the upper hand in any way. I knew I could write her a check for five times the balance if I chose. But this little game of make Sapphire squirm was not going quite the way I planned.
“Why raise the hopes of the children only to have it dashed because of whatever imaginary ax you think you have to grind with me?” she continued glaring at me.
I was sure I saw tears glittering. Instantly I felt gutted, a sour taste filling my mouth. I had wanted her to grovel, but seeing her hurt face didn’t feel good at all. It actually turned my stomach. An old image flashed into my head. She was crying because she had seen a dog killed on the side of the road. I had held her tightly. My jaw tightened. This was not turning out the way I thought it would. I turned away from her and pretended to look at the skyline.
“Maybe you don’t have the money. Maybe… you were just playing with us,” she yelled, her voice cracking with emotion.
I turned back and saw her hands clenched into tight little fists. She had small hands, my Sapphire. She needed both to circle my cock. Ah, hell. Suddenly, it occurred to me that there was nothing more I wanted than to take her into my arms and kiss that delicious mouth. I forced myself to remember that mouth didn’t come to court to see me. Didn’t call. Didn’t care. That was a lying mouth. Yet, here I was, lusting for it to be wrapped around my cock.
The crazy effect she had on me infuriated me and made my voice cold and harsh. “Tell you what, Sapphire. I’ll write that balance off and more with one swipe of my pen, and you can have it all right now, with no future interference from me ever… with only one condition.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Condition?”
“Have sex with me.”
The moment the words left my mouth her face went white, a knife turned in my gut, but I did not stop, my voice was sarcastic and mocking.
“I’m not into fucking men in the ass and I didn’t have the privacy to jack off when the need arose so four years was a long, long time for me to go without. You’re altruistic, always helping the next person. Help me. Have sex with me to remind me what a good, wet pussy feels like. If memory serves, that tight pussy of yours never could get enough of my dick. Maybe after you’ve broken me in I can go out and taste all the other pussies of this world. Four fucking years-worth of them.”
She gasped then, but I was relentless. I needed to get my pound of flesh. “And if you’re as good as I remember, I’ll even add a little extra if you want. We’ll call it even then.”
She sat deathly silent, staring at me in disbelief.
I tilted my head and looked at her through half-closed lids, watching the strong emotions chasing across her face as her eyes flashed angrily and her throat worked convulsively. Then, she licked her dry lips and I felt my cock thicken. In my head those glossy lips were already wrapped around my length, as she sucked me just the way I’d taught her.
She took a deep breath, making her chest heave. “Go to hell. Actually, why don’t you take your filthy money and give it to the slut you were with on my birthday when you left me waiting in that restaurant? I’m sure she can remind you what it feels like to be with a woman enough for you to go out and get four years-worth of pussy. Or maybe just start with the legs and chest you have sitting in your office out there. I’m pretty sure she would oblige.”
I scowled. “What the fuck are you talking about? You did it at the fair as well. You keep going on and on about me cheating on you and I never did. Or does it just irk you that I finally saw through your charade and your gold-digger colors showed.”
She gasped in shock. “Gold digger? Are you callingmea gold-digger?”
“The truth hurts, does it? When I got involved with you, people warned me you were too young.”
“We’re only two years apart,” she bit out furiously.
“Yes, but I was already a millionaire and you barely knew what four figures looked like, much less seven.” As I spoke, I remembered it was Randy who first cracked the joke about her being a gold digger. I’d not believed him then. I’d even taken offense and told him off, but what was one to believe when she left me to rot and picked up with the next shiny thing. Randy himself.
Randy and her deserved each other. Raw bile rose into my throat at the thought of them together.
Fuck him.
And her.
My voice was downright evil now. Even I could hear the degradation and sin in it. “We can do dinner first if you like, then go back to yours or mine, I don’t mind which. We’ll spend one night together where I get to fuck you as many times as I want in any orifice I want. You will not say no to anything I ask. Once I’ve had enough of your body, I’ll write you a check for the amount you want. After that we’ll part ways… forever.”
Every word felt bitter, but I had to see the charade through.
What was truly shocking was the suffocating feeling in my chest. I didn’t want her to accept. I was hoping and praying she would say no! If she said yes, it would confirm once and for all she was indeed what I’d accused her of being: a gold digger, and it mattered greatly to me that she prove me wrong.
This was my last hope in this cruel, dangerous world.
I wanted to be wrong. God, how I wanted to be wrong.
I leaned forward and steepled my fingers underneath my chin. “Well?”