Whatever He Wants (20 page)

 
     
Eleanor’s smile widened.
“After mother’s gala.
No need to take the spotlight from
her.”

 
     
“Is there any particular type of ring
you’d care for?”

 
     
“I trust your judgment. I don’t want
anything too ostentatious but I’d appreciate something befitting the wife of
James Rothschild.”

 
     
James raised his glass in salute to his
fiancé. “I’d say
this calls
for a toast to a
successful union.”

 
     
Eleanor lifted her wine glass and gently
tapped it to his.
“To us.”

 
     
He had to hand it to her, when it came
down to the nitty-gritty Eleanor was all business. While he appreciated that
she didn’t pretend this was some great love match, her businesslike manner took
him by surprise. Everything he wanted was coming to fruition. So why couldn’t
he stop thinking about Noelle?

 
     
Noelle did her best to keep up with the
fast chatter and merriment of the women surrounding her, but she simply
couldn’t get into the spirit despite the smile she’d glued on her face.

 
     
Simone placed a hand on her shoulder and
gave it a rub. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

 
     
Noelle widened her smile to play off the
fact she simply didn’t want to be here. “I’m fine.”

 
     
“Are you sure?
Because
you’re really quiet.”

 
     
“I’m okay.”

 
     
“You’ve barely touched your drink, girl.
You’re making the rest of us look like lushes. Come on, bottoms up.”
Tanisha
, one of the women at their table egged her on.

 
     
“I’m not really much of a drinker to tell
you the truth,” Noelle answered as politely as she could.

 
     
“You’ve been acting like a Debby Downer
all night. Do you think you’re too good to cut loose with us? Simone why is
your cousin such a wet blanket?”
Tanisha
went on.

 
     
Out of all her cousin’s friends,
Tanisha
made her the most uncomfortable. She was loud and
one of those brutally honest people who didn’t have a problem hurting someone’s
feelings in the name of telling it like it is. She reminded Noelle of the girls
who used to make fun of her in grade school.

 
     
“Lay off,
Tanisha
.
One of these days your mouth is going to get you in trouble.” Simone glared at
her friend.

 
     
“Whatever,”
Tanisha
mumbled before taking a generous swig of her Long Island Ice Tea.

 
     
Needing to get away from the table for a
moment, Noelle pushed her chair back and stood. “I need to run to the restroom.
Excuse me.”

 
     
In order to get to the restroom she had to
go through the restaurant portion of the building. As she walked by the
patrons, she could have sworn she saw James out the corner of her eye. Of
course it wasn’t him. She had to be imagining things. The man occupied every
corner of her mind all the time. She often imagined seeing him in places she
went but it always turned out to be someone else.

 
     
In the bathroom, she washed her hands and
checked her makeup in the mirror. She barely recognized herself. Tonight, she
wore the gold contacts and her makeup was artfully done, although it was more
than what she usually wore. It was all for him and he wasn’t here to see it.
James would probably never bring her to a place like this anyway.

 
     
She wiped away an unexpected tear that
fell from the corner of her eye before it could leave a track down her rouged
cheek.

 
     
“Are you okay?”

 
     
Noelle turned to see one of the most
stunning women she’d ever seen. She was tall and willowy with dark red hair and
large blue eyes.
Dressed in designer wear from head to toe,
everything about this woman screamed money.
Noelle had seen her
somewhere before but couldn’t place where.

 
     
Noelle smiled at the woman and nodded.
“I’m fine, thanks for asking.”

 
     
“Well, if you’re sure…” The other woman
looked her over. “That’s a lovely necklace by the way. Cartier?”

 
     
Noelle touched the necklace protectively.
It was one of the few gifts James had given her. It was a diamond surrounded by
smaller diamonds on a platinum chain. She rarely left the penthouse without it.
“Yes, it is. Thank you.”

 
     
“You have great taste in jewelry.”

 
     
“Well, it was a gift actually.”

 
     
“Ah, I see. Well it’s lovely nonetheless.”
The redhead touched up her makeup and then smiled at her. “I hope your night
improves.”

 
     
“Thanks,” Noelle mumbled.

 
     
“Keep in mind, no man is worth the stress,
dear.”

 
     
Noelle raised both brows in surprise. “I
never said my problems were because of a man.”

 
     
 
The
redhead chuckled. “Isn’t it always because of a man?” she answered airily
before sailing out of the restroom.  Women like her didn’t have men
problems. She probably had a slew of suitors standing in line for a chance to
be near her. She was the type of woman Noelle envisioned James with. That last
thought made Noelle wince.

 
     
Noelle chided herself gently. “Get
yourself
together, girl” she spoke to the mirror.

 
     
“Do you need some assistance, Miss?” the
valet in the corner spoke for the first time.

 
     
“Oh, no, I’m fine.” Embarrassed at being
caught talking to herself, Noelle hurried out of the restroom and headed back
toward her group. From the corner of her eye she caught sight of the redhead
from the restroom. Curiosity made Noelle slow her steps and glance over to see
the lady’s companion.

 
     
The room began to spin and air swooshed
from her lungs. She couldn’t move, breath or even comprehend the unlucky
coincidence of the scene before her. Only a few moments earlier she’d supposed
this was the type of woman James would be with and there he was, smiling at the
redhead in a way he never smiled at her. He was attentive and seemed interested
in what his companion had to say. More importantly, this was the woman he took
out in public. It suddenly dawned on her that the redhead was the same woman
she’d seen in the newspaper. She was even more beautiful in person, which was
why Noelle hadn’t immediately recognized her. Here was the irrefutable proof of
James’ disregard for Noelle staring her in the face. It literally felt as if
her heart was crumbling into tiny pieces.

 
     
She wasn’t sure how long she stood in the
same position but she realized the longer she did, the greater the chance James
would see her. She didn’t want to look as if she’d stalked him. Forcing her
feet to move, she headed back to her table feeling completely numb.

 
     
Simone seemed to notice something was
wrong right away. “Noelle, you don’t look so hot.”

 
     
Noelle opened her mouth but no words came
out at first. It took a considerable amount of concentration just to keep from
crying. Finally finding her voice after a few moments, she said, “I’m really
not feeling well. I think I’ll pass on going to the club tonight.”

 
     
Tanisha
snorted.
“I told you she’d come up with an excuse when she got out of the bathroom.”

 
     
“Shut up!” Simone snapped at her friend
before returning her attention to Noelle. “What’s the matter
hon
?”

 
     
“I feel a migraine coming on.” And that
wasn’t far from the truth. That familiar throb of her frontal lobes was merely
a dull ache right now, but she knew if she stuck around much longer it would be
a full-on thunderclap in her skull.

 
     
“I’m sorry, honey. I can go with you if
you’d like.”

 
     
“No! I don’t want to ruin your night. I’ll
just get a cab, head home and lay down.”

 
     
“Are you sure?” her cousin asked.

 
     
“Yes. Please enjoy your evening.”

 
     
“Okay, but call me when you get back to
your place. And if you need me to come over just say the word.”

 
     
“Will do.”
Noelle
made her hasty goodbyes to the rest of the ladies at the table and headed out,
still trying to wrap her head around seeing her worst nightmares come true.
Noelle was well aware of James’s other life, but it was one thing to know and
not think about it versus coming face to face with it.

 
     
By the time she made it back to the
penthouse, her migraine was in full effect. She was in so much pain her
eyesight was bleary. She probably handed the cabbie far more than the fare
based on his effusive thanks but she didn’t care, she simply needed to get
inside and lay down. This was one of the worst she’d ever had.

 
     
“Miss Greene, are you okay?” the security
guard asked as she stumbled past his desk. He probably thought she was drunk by
the way she swayed from side to side as she walked.

 
     
“Fine.
Just not
feeling well,” she managed to mumble, stumbling past him.

 
     
Nearly collapsing in the elevator, she
barely stayed on her feet and practically crawled to her door. How she managed
to unlock the door was pure testament to her determination because once she was
inside the penthouse, she collapsed and fell into a blissful faint.

 
     
James wasn’t sure why he went back to the
penthouse, particularly after the way Noelle had acted earlier. He told himself
he didn’t need a reason but deep down he knew it was because he couldn’t stay
away. He had to see her. The woman was like a sickness in his blood he couldn’t
get rid of. She consumed his every waking thought. The sooner he was able to
exorcise her from his system the sooner he’d be able to move on with his life.

 
     
A twinge of unease seared through him when
he thought of her walking away. But he squashed those misgivings. What the hell
was the matter with him? He didn’t care if she left, beyond the fact it would
create an inconvenience for him until a suitable replacement was found. Even as
he tried to convince himself of this James knew it wasn’t true.

 
     
Perhaps he felt so this way where she was
concerned because things were going extremely well for him. James was used to
dealing with one major stress or another but lately things were going
swimmingly. Business couldn’t be better,
AlCore
was
crumbling and he was engaged to a woman of impeccable breeding. If only things
would fall in line with Noelle, everything would be perfect.

 
     
By the time he was in the elevator on the
way up to the penthouse, James had made up his mind to set Noelle straight. He
would let her know in no uncertain terms who called the shots, and if she
didn’t like it she was free to leave. With that in mind, he managed to push
away the excitement he felt at seeing her again.

 
     
James used his key to let himself into the
penthouse; however, he was met with darkness. He didn’t expect her to be in bed
so early. When he flipped on the nearest light switch he froze in terror at the
sight which greeted him. Lying in a heap not too far from the door was Noelle.
Her coat and shoes were still on as if she were about to go out or was coming
home.

 
     
“Shit,” he muttered, dropping down next to
here to see if she was still breathing. Her face was more than a little warm.
He gathered her upper body in his arms and gently patted her cheek.