The Wives of Beverly Row 6: Lust Has a New Address (8 page)

She took deep breaths. This was it, the moment she’d been waiting for. This was her chance to help her friend get free of a very abusive relationship.

There was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” she said.

It was Jake. He looked happy and confident, same as he always did, with absolutely no idea what was about to happen. Ariel almost pitied him.

“So, sweetheart,” he said, walking straight over to her.

He leaned down and kissed her on the mouth. Ariel was about to stop him but as soon as his tongue was in her mouth she felt a surge of desire flow through her body. She let him kiss her. She was about to floor him with the biggest news he’d had maybe in his entire life, but what was the harm in enjoying one last kiss first?

“So, I got the painting from your stupid ex-husband,” Jake said.

“Yes, I know.”

“Easiest couple million I’ve ever made.”

“Well, maybe not quite as easy as you thought,” Ariel said.

Jake stood up straight. “Why’s that?” he said, his voice getting a little more serious.

“Well, have you taken possession of the painting?” Ariel said.

“Of course I have. My guy, Landfeld, he has it.”

“Well, you might want to make sure that no one tells him the painting is a forgery.”

Ariel watched Jake’s reaction. It had been a moment she’d been waiting to see for a very long time. There was nothing quite so sweet as seeing a man who’d been cruel to a woman finally realizing that the women had struck back. She watched as the blood drained from his face.

“What?”

“You heard me,” Ariel said defiantly.

“What are you talking about?” Jake said.

He was getting aggressive. His voice was rising. Ariel knew it would be a good time to call in Gabe and the rest of her backup.

She picked up her phone, but as soon as she did, Jake knocked it out of her hand.

“You listen very carefully to me,” Jake said, his voice sounding dark and menacing.

“I don’t have to listen to you anymore,” Ariel said, “and neither does Zola.”

She looked across the room at her phone where it had fallen to the floor. She’d never be able to reach it. Jake was right in front of her, his hands on her shoulders.

“What are you saying?” he said.

“I sold you a forged painting,” Ariel said.

“Why the fuck did you do that?”

“Because I needed to make sure that you’d allow Zola to get the divorce she needed.”

“Zola’s not going anywhere,” Jake said. “I fucking own that bitch.”

“No you don’t,” Ariel said. “You never did, and that’s what I’m going to show you.”

“If that painting’s a forgery, all I have to do is tell the police. They’ll have you and your ex-husband arrested immediately.”

“Not if they can’t prove the painting’s forged.”

“They’ll prove it.”

“Your expert, Douglas Landfeld, couldn’t prove it. How will the police?”

“Is it a forgery or not?” Jake said.

“It’s a forgery. But here’s the thing. I won’t tell anyone.”

“If you sold me a fake, why wouldn’t you tell anyone?”

“So that you’ll still be able to get the five million for it.”

Jake was shaking his head. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” she said.

Jake was sharp when it came to money. He knew she had him. He understood exactly what was going on. If she did anything to let the museum know the painting was a fake, he’d never be able to collect the five million reward, but at the same time, there was nothing he could do about it because the forgery was so good that the police wouldn’t be able to charge her and Gabe with selling a fake.

Jake drew back his arm. Ariel saw it coming even before it happened. His arm flew toward her and his hand struck her across the face. The pain flew through her like a shockwave.

Finally, Ariel could see what life had been like for Zola. She understood Zola’s fear now. And she knew she had to show Jake that the game was up, that she’d gotten the better of him once and for all, and that he was going to have to let Zola go.

“Gabe,” Ariel called.

“What is this?” Jake said, looking around.

Within seconds, Gabe came in through the bedroom door. When he saw that Jake had struck Ariel across the face, he rushed at him. Jake turned in time to meet Gabe and the two men struck each other like charging bulls. Ariel had no idea who would have won the fight because Trudy was the next to enter the room, along with her two frat boys, Gary and Dean. They grabbed Jake and pulled him off of Gabe.

Ariel thought about the irony of the fact that last time they’d been in that room, the two men had fucked.

“What the hell is going on?” Jake said.

Next, Veronica entered the room, accompanied by both Hank and Matt. It didn’t seem like Veronica’s decision to leave Hank had gotten in the way of Hank and Matt’s friendship at all. Even Veronica was surprised at how understanding and mature the men were being.

Finally, Zola entered.

When Jake saw her his jaw clenched. “What is the meaning of all of this?” he said, looking around the room. The two frat boys loosened their grip just a little.

It was time. It was finally time for Jake to learn what had happened to him, and why.

XIV

Z
OLA SCANNED THE ROOM.
Everyone was there, all her friends. Each of them wanted to teach Jake a lesson, to show him that he couldn’t go on treating his wife like a sex slave, or a piece of personal property that he could do with as he pleased. It felt good to Zola that her friends were there to support her. She looked in turn at Ariel, Trudy and Veronica.

Ariel had orchestrated this entire confrontation with Jake. There had been times when Zola had been terrified of what Ariel was planning, but now that she was here, back in the hotel room in which they’d had their orgy, she felt overjoyed that her friend had been willing to go to such lengths to help her.

Next she looked at Trudy. Trudy had brought her two UCLA lovers with her so that they could help keep Jake under control. While Zola knew that Trudy had a lot of issues still to deal with in her life, she was glad to call her a friend and felt encouraged and emboldened by the knowledge that she had a whole frat house of support down on the nearby UCLA campus if she ever needed it. Knowing that Jake had the members on his forum to fall back on, Zola knew she might need the backup of the frat boys if she was going to be able to feel safe continuing her life on Beverly Row.

Then there was Veronica. Zola saw Veronica almost as a symbol of herself. If Veronica could take charge of her life and make the difficult decisions necessary to change things, then so could she.

Even the fact that both Matt and Hank were there, supporting her, showed her that not all men were bad. Some men could be trusted. They could be her friend and they would help keep her safe from Jake in the future.

Zola looked at Jake. He was fuming. If it weren’t for everyone else, Zola would have been too terrified to face him like this. There was no telling what he might ordinarily do when he was this angry. She wanted him to know as soon as possible that the days of him bullying her were over.

“Gabe,” she said. “Why don’t you explain things to Jake.”

“Alright,” Gabe said. “Jake. I know you’re a sharp guy. You’ll be able to figure this out for yourself without too much trouble, but basically it’s as simple as this. The painting you paid for is a fake. As long as no one knows that, you should be able to collect your five million from the museum.”

Zola looked at Jake and miraculously, he was nodding. His calculating mind was going over every detail.

“Hank can probably explain things a little better to you on the technical side,” Gabe said.

Hank cleared his throat. “It’s plain and simple, Jake,” Hank said. “You’ve basically got two options. Do what Ariel wants, and you’ll be able to pass the forgery off as the real deal and collect your five million, or fight her on it, and lose the money.”

“And make no mistake,” Ariel said, “if you make one wrong step, I’ll call the museum and tell them exactly how to know that the painting’s not real.”

Jake was shaking his head.

“I should fucking call the cops on all of you right now,” Jake said.

He struggled and the two frat boys tightened their grip on him.

“You can call the police,” Ariel said, “but you’ll achieve nothing, other than alerting the museum that they shouldn’t pay out the reward. They’re the only ones who’ll be scared off by any suggestion that the painting’s not the real deal.”

Jake wasn’t happy accepting what Ariel was saying but he was smart enough to know it was true. The only person he’d hurt by creating a fuss was himself. It was
his
five million dollars on the line now. They had him by the balls.

“So,” Ariel said, “I think it’s time that Zola had the opportunity to face you and tell you exactly what she wants.”

This was it, this was her moment. Zola felt almost faint. She looked around the room. It was full of people who loved and supported her. She was so grateful to them all for coming. If they weren’t there, she’d never have had the courage to face up to Jake and she knew it.

Even with them there it wasn’t easy. She stepped up to Jake. The frat boys held him firmly, his arms behind his back. He wasn’t going anywhere. He looked utterly defeated. There was no trace of the brash, cocky man she knew so well. This was a different Jake.

“You listen to me very carefully, Jake Medeiros,” Zola said.

Jake wasn’t happy but he was listening. Zola was grateful for that much.

“I was never happy married to you. You treated me like a piece of property, someone you owned who you could treat like a complete slave. You gave me no respect. You let your friends,” she struggled to get the words out at this part, “you let your friends fuck me like a whore.”

Jake held her eye. She felt as if she was getting through to him. The fact that so much of his money was on the line was no doubt responsible for that.

She continued. “And why? Why did you do it? What did you get out of it? I can’t imagine the pleasure you got from humiliating me was worth the pain it caused. I can’t believe that.”

Jake mumbled something but Zola couldn’t make out the words.

“What was that?” she said.

“You agreed to it,” Jake said.

“I agreed to it because I was afraid of you,” Zola said. “I was terrified. And with good reason. I didn’t want to do the things you forced me to do. I didn’t want any of that. All I ever wanted was to be your wife and to be treated with love and respect, and you weren’t able to do that. You were never willing to give me the love I needed.”

“So, what happens now?” Jake said. “You’re going to blackmail me for everything I’ve got?”

“No,” Zola said. “Only for what is rightfully mine. I want our house, and I want enough money to live in it securely, and that’s it.”

Jake looked around the room. She knew he could accept that. Given the fact that a single phone call from Ariel could cost him five million dollars, she knew that he would give her the house and a financial settlement that was fair. She wasn’t pushing her luck. She wasn’t asking for an unacceptable amount. She was playing it smart, asking for the precise limit to what Jake would agree to.

Jake was a creature of opportunity, he was a pragmatist. He always took the best deal that was open to him at any given moment. The deal Zola was going to strike would end up costing Jake about two million dollars. All in all, once he got paid out by the museum, he was basically getting off for free. It was a good deal. He didn’t want to let Zola go, he liked to think that he owned her, but he liked his money more, and this was going to give her back her freedom while at the same time forcing Jake to do the one thing he could always be trusted to do, act in his own best financial interests.

“I’ll have to talk it over with my lawyer,” Jake said.

Hank had already had the divorce agreement legally drafted. He handed it to Jake. “Given the five million dollar bombshell that Ariel is holding over your head,” Hank said, “I think you and your lawyer will agree that this contract is fairly generous.”

And that was it. Zola couldn’t believe it. She’d told Jake what she wanted. She’d faced up to him. Never in a million years had she ever imagined that she’d have the courage to stand up to him. Now it was already over! Even if she didn’t get a penny out of Jake, even if all she got out of this was her freedom, she would be grateful to Ariel and the rest of her friends as long as she lived.

They watched Jake leave, carrying nothing but the divorce agreement. The frat boys escorted him down to the lobby. When he was gone, Zola burst into tears.

“Thank you so much,” she said to Ariel and the others. She was so grateful to them, more grateful than they would ever know, more grateful than her words could even express. They’d just helped her stand up to a man who she thought of as a complete monster. Things would never be the same for her again. She knew that. No matter what happened, they’d shown her that it was possible to stand up to a bully and get him to see things the way you needed him to see them.

She was going to be free!

She hugged and kissed each and every one of her friends and couldn’t stop crying the whole time. This was the greatest gift that anyone ever could have given her and she knew it.

XV

E
VERYTHING DIDN’T END THE MOMENT
Jake Medeiros left the hotel room. There was still a lot of work to be done, most of it of a legal nature. Hank was kind enough to guide Zola through the legal and financial maze that was to follow. It took a lot of strength and drive from Hank and Zola and all of the others to see the job through. It was a long and arduous journey, but in the end it had gone the way that Ariel had always intended.

Given Jake’s complete and utter greed and self-interest, it had gone the only way it ever could have gone. And that was Ariel’s genius.

Jake had been so terrified of losing the five million dollar reward from the museum that he hadn’t given Zola much of a fight at all. He’d agreed to a generous divorce settlement, everything she’d asked for, and because of the way Ariel had planned things, it hadn’t even cost Jake that much money. That was the key to ensuring Zola’s safety. The five million from the museum went a long way toward ensuring that Jake didn’t cause Zola trouble after the divorce finalized.