Sweet Downfall (26 page)

She looked at her sister helplessly. “What am I gonna do, Sher?”

“What…what do you mean?”

“I don’t know...I’m so confused.”

Sherry sat beside her. “Tell me.”

“I just...I just don’t think we should get married...”

“You don’t...uhm, you don’t wanna marry, Jordy?”

“It’s not that. I just don’t think we should marry this soon.”

“Why?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know…”

“Is it because of Jaq?”

She didn’t answer.

“You still love him?”

Her eyes watered. “Oh Sher, what am I gonna do? Jordan...Dad...our brothers...our company...Jaq...” She shook her head. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Sherry gripped her hand. “It’s simple, Ange. Just follow your heart. It will always set you free.”

Jaq was in a foul mood as he entered
one of the lounges of Lothario. His movie was almost done so he treated his cast and crew to a weekend break. He left them in the capable hands of Joey and his production managers. They were somewhere in the city having a good time.

He was at Lothario most weekends since he came back into the country. His house had been restored to normal but he didn’t want to spend time alone there. He used to enjoy his solitude for his creative moments but he now hated it.

A few months ago his life was alright. He had a job he loved, a social life that was satisfactory. But since he saw Angie again, he found himself not in complete control of his life and he hated it. He hated feeling vulnerable. Worst of all, he hated being needy.

He’d vowed to make her pay for everything she had done to him. He promised himself that this time around, he would make her want him so badly she would break up her engagement with Jordan and go back to him, and it would be his turn to walk away and leave her high and dry.

What a great plan, dumbass. The moment your dick was inside her, you were the one flying high, and definitely not dry, too.

Angelina Yulo was the one chink in his armor that he just cannot fix. Not even after all these years. The more he had her, the more he wanted more of her like a junkie. He’d swallowed his pride and called up Darry to ask for Angie’s phone number. Darry was only too happy to give it to him. He had been trying to contact Angie for days now but she was not answering her phone. He was tempted to visit her at the Empress Hotel and declare war on her family again so he could see her again. Jesus, was he obsessed with her? The possibility made him sick.

He went to the bar and ordered whiskey.

“Too early to get drunk, sugar,” said the bartender dressed exotically as a Pagan High Priestess, her bountiful wares on display, if he was interested.

“Humor me, Psy and just pour me another one,” he said curtly.

Psy poured her another glass. He finished the round in one swig. “Another one.”

Psy clucked her tongue. “When a guy wants to get stinkin’ drunk, there are only two reasons. The GF or wife left him or he is getting married.”

He looked at the geisha curiously. Psyche was very beautiful and obviously had something between her ears, as well. She was one of those geishas who can actually carry a very interesting conversation with a guy, which made her a huge hit at the club. “I could be just broke.”

“Doing a Hollywood film starring The Rock and Alex Pettyfer? Nah. You getting married?”

“Since when did you become the host of Lothario’s entertainment news?” he asked her sourly.

“Bartending is boring as hell I have to amuse myself at your expense.”

He smirked. “Not enjoying as a geisha lately?”

“I’m on a sabbatical leave as a G.”

A geisha on a sabbatical leave? That was funny. But Psy was no ordinary geisha. She had a degree in Psychology, thus her moniker. Members of the club would generally seek Psy’s company to talk. Geishas like her who can talk with sense, fuck good and keep confidences were the top earners of the club. He was actually lucky he caught her alone at the bar tonight. On most nights, she was surrounded by guys, always the center of attention.

He cleared his throat. “I have a question Psy. Pretend you’re not a geisha for a moment. Do women really enjoy sex for sex alone?”

She raised a brow. “Why, Jaq Montero, I didn’t know you were a chauvinist pig.”

He shrugged. “Call me a normal self-centered bastard, but it’s a common assumption by us men that you at least love us a little first before you decide to fuck us. You know, the don’t-do-him-on-the-first-date motto most of you girls live by.”

Psy rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, sorry to burst your fat, sexist bubble, boy, but women can actually enjoy an emotional-rubbish-free sexual encounter with a man anytime and not think about it the next day.”

“Like a slam-bam-thank-you-sir? Really?”

“Yeah.”

Well, he’d been with those types in the past and he didn’t mind. But Angie as one of them? Every part of him objected violently.

“Well, we prefer sex with men we really, really like. It’s just better and more intense.”

So, did Angie have real intense feelings for him?

What feelings, you fool? He put you in jail years ago for banging her, you idiot!

His common sense put him back in the right frame quickly. “Women. Who can ever figure ‘em out?”

Psy leaned on the counter showing him her cleavage. “Now, Jaq, I really, really like you, you know?”

He grinned. “Now, now, baby, I’m gonna pay you good for this great conversation.”

She smiled lazily. “For free.”

He kissed her cheek. “So sweet. Thank you.”

She pouted. “Oookay, I get it,” she refilled his glass.

He downed it. “So, how do you know when you’re really in love with a man?”

She laughed. “Tsk, you must be in real deep shit, dude.”

“Come on, humor me.”

“Okay, I’ll tell you something. When a woman falls in love, she will commit to her man exclusively even if she thinks he is Mr. Wrong. A man on the other hand could meet Miss Right but he won’t commit if he isn’t ready to do so, even if he loves her to bits. He will likely even dump her to find a less complicated Miss Right Now. Self-centered bastards.”

“You’re saying that for women, commitment means love?”

“In most cases, yes.”

He swallowed hard. “What would make a woman commit to a man aside from love?”

She smiled sadly. “Security and convenience, I guess. Women have wised up in this game. Like men, love no longer rules our world. In fact, between love and money, it’s a tough choice.”

“Money talks faster, huh?” he said bitterly.

He felt sick. Psy just unknowingly confirmed Angie’s character in black and white. But Angie wasn’t aiming for a paltry sum from her marriage to Jordan. How much money did Angie want to be content? Obviously, a lot more than what she already had. Much, much more than what he had and would ever make.

Psy shrugged. “If we can’t have love, beaucoup moolah is the next best thing. Why, isn’t that what you men live by, too? Money, money, money? I mean, look at this place. It’s all about money and power.”

He won’t agree with her on that score. Making tons of money had never been the end point for him. His career was widely successful but the resultant monetary rewards of his hard work made no difference in his outlook in life. “Another shot, sweetheart, please.”

“Hey, enough. You’re still driving home, right? Come on, handsome, what’s really bothering you? Tell Momma here and I will make it better.”

Maybe it was the whiskey or just plain desperation that made him confess to the geisha. “A woman let me have sex with her but she said she is committed to her boyfriend.”

“Hmm, is the boyfriend old and ugly?”

“No. On the contrary, he’s my age, good-looking and very loaded,” he said resentfully.

“Hmm, and you were hurt by this?”

“No. Insulted.”

Psy smiled knowingly. “For being the boy toy?”

He growled something unintelligible.

“Oooh, Jaq Montero the playah hates being the boy toy. Isn’t that ironic?”

He grunted.

“She’s committed to her boyfriend but would gladly ride your jack-the-giant-bean-stalk, too? Aren’t you a lucky prick? Who hates a free fuck?”

He clenched his jaw. She leaned forward and peered at him closely.

“What?” he snapped.

“You’re in love with her!” she exclaimed.

He grimaced in distaste. “I’m not.”

She chuckled. “Yes, you are, otherwise, you’d be happy being the boy toy. Come on, it’s every man’s fantasy. Free fuck and no strings attached. Perfect set-up.”

What she said was true enough. If it were another woman, he’d be happy being the boy toy. But Angie’s boy toy? He wanted to run amok in affronted rage. Damn her, she always made him feel unworthy to be with her for real. She had given him full access to her body but not her life. She had never been proud to be with him, walk with him in public hand in hand, introduce him to her circle of friends and her folks. He’d never felt secure in the thought that she’d accepted him, the whole of him. He was never the most important person in her life. She would never choose him over Jordan–

He halted the direction of his thoughts. This masochistic need for her absolute acceptance was simply pathetic.

“Hmm, I think I know her, too. In fact, I got a video clip somewhere here in my cell–”

“Don’t,” he warned the geisha.

She sighed dramatically. “Ah well, if she’s the one causing you all this drama, then she must be really something. Would you like to marry her yourself?”

“No,” he said flatly.

“Then why are you so worked up about being her side dish? Maybe you wanna be her main dish?”

Were women’s minds wired together or something? Side dish?! Shit. “Just one last drink.”

“Uh-huh, speaking of the devils…Don’t look behind you now. Jordan just came in with the Yulo twins.”

Jaq braced himself as Rad, Ram and Jordan
approached the bar. He didn’t look at them but he knew where they were. If they’d lay a finger on him, it was motherfucking on!

“Hi guys!” Psy greeted the trio. “What can I get you?”

They sat a few meters away from him. He quietly fiddled with his empty glass.

“Montero!” Rad called out to him.

He slowly turned his head toward them.

“You have the balls to still come in here.”

The corner of his lips lifted in a sneer. “I am paying the membership, Rad.”

“Now that makes me wonder about the qualifications of becoming a member of this club.”

He bristled at the insult. He had known X from way back and he had earned the right to be a member. “Why don’t you ask X about that?”

“I will certainly do that. What you did must not be tolerated by the club. It’s a ground for expulsion.”

“What I did...?” he asked slowly, his temper rapidly escalating. It took a lot of self-control to tolerate Rad Yulo but tonight, he just wasn’t in the mood to walk away from trouble.

“Leaking the video, you fuck!”

He turned the bar stool so that he was fully facing Rad. “If I were you, I wouldn’t worry too much about my sex video with your sister. There’s another video you should really be worried about.”

“What do you mean?”

He finally dropped the bomb. “I have another video that could put you and your brother in jail.”

Rad snorted. “Yeah, what video are you talking about? Me bangin’ you?”

He gave the asshole an evil smile. “Believe me, man, this video will send you two in the can and for sure, lots of inmates will gang bang you there everyday.”

“Spit it out! What video are talking about?!”

“You think you’ve destroyed all my CCTVs? What you destroyed were just the decoy cams. I have other well-hidden surveillance cameras and they caught you and Ram and your goons breaking into my house searching for something and vandalizing my property. The last time I checked, burglary alone could give you six to twelve years. And I won’t negotiate.”

Rad looked taken aback but recovered quickly. “You’re bluffing.”

“Wrong guess.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Why not? What do you expect from a guy you already accused of leaking your sister’s sex video? I can make your life very difficult with those evidence.”

Rad was about to lunge at him but Jordan stopped him.

Angie’s boyfriend walked up to him.

“What did you say?” Jordan asked, his voice calm.

Jaq stared at Angie’s fiancé. He had seen Jordan a lot at Lothario over the years but they never exchanged any word, not even once. He’d avoided Jordan at all costs. He’d been hating the guy for so long. If it were up to him, he didn’t want to see Jordan at Lothario, but his privilege as X’s friend didn’t extend to meddling with X’s other friendships.

“Jordan.” He didn’t know what to say to the man who was everything that he was not, who possessed everything that he longed to have. Jordan had the only woman he had ever wanted. The only woman he had ever loved. In a few months, she would be Jordan’s wife.