Whatever He Wants (38 page)

 
     
“You’re right, but I’m scared I’ll make a
fool of myself again.”

 
     
“Don’t be so down on yourself, babe. I know
you’ll do what’s best for you.”

 
     
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Paul.”

 
     
“That’s what friends are for. You don’t
have to make any decisions now. Just think about it, okay?”

 
     
“Sure.”

 
     
“Good.”

 
     
“And now that we have that established,
how is it going on the Simone front?”

 
     
Paul rolled his eyes. “That cousin of
yours is more stubborn than a mule. But I think I’m wearing her down. She
doesn’t run the other way when she sees me coming at least.”

 
     
“That’s a positive sign. She asks for you
sometimes.”

 
     
Paul perked up, a grin spreading across
his handsome face.
“Really?
What does she ask?”

 
     
“Just how you’re doing
and general questions involving the business.”

 
     
“That woman is going to be my future wife
whether she realizes it or not.”

 
     
Noelle chuckled, happy to get her mind off
her immediate problems. “So I guess that will make us cousins if you succeed.”

 
     
“Bite your tongue, woman. It’s not if I
succeed. It’s
when
I succeed.”

 
     
Noelle shook her head at her friend,
wishing she had his ability to be sure so of things.

 
     
“
For
dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return
.” The priest threw a handful
of dirt on the coffin as he recited several more bible verses. James had
stopped paying attention as soon as the casket containing the old bastard was
placed on the casket-lowering device.

 
     
“If the family will now come forward to
pay one last tribute to their loved one,” the priest directed.

 
     
Gillian sniffed delicately, a single tear
slid down her cheek as she placed an armful of roses on the casket. James knew
it was all a show because she was heartless. David’s mother Cassandra placed an
equally large floral arrangement on the coffin before returning to her chair.
David remained seated, his expression stony and unreadable, although James
could imagine what the other man was thinking.

 
     
Some people James recognized from the
business world placed small tokens on the casket before the groundskeepers
assisted the funeral director in lowering the casket into the ground. James was
particularly keen on this part of the service because this was the symbolic end
of a painful past that had caused him nothing but shame and anger that he’d
carried with him until very recently.

 
     
David had surprisingly offered him a seat
up front with the family, a concession that Cassandra had obviously disapproved
of. James, however, had declined, and preferred to remain standing in the back.
He stood in the same spot when most of the attendees had scattered.

 
     
“I still don’t see why you had to invite
him
. Your poor grandfather is probably
rolling in his grave at this very second knowing you have that…him here.”
Cassandra said just loud enough for James to hear.

 
     
“Grandfather is right there. Why don’t you
jump in the grave and open the casket to see if he’s rolling around. James is
family after all. Why shouldn’t he be here to pay his respects to dear departed
grandfather.
” His brother’s voice dripped with sarcasm
over those last words.

 
     
“Lower your voice. What if someone hears?”
Cassandra shushed him.

 
     
“You weren’t interested in lowering your
voice when you wanted to call him a bastard. That’s what you were going to say
about him, weren’t you? But you don’t want anyone to know your late husband
fathered another child while he was still married to you because that would
mean he found you lacking in some way.”

 
     
Cassandra turned bright red as she stood
up abruptly. “Well, David. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I’m heading
back to my hotel room. I won’t ask you to apologize even though you really
should. I’ll just mark this down as grief over your grandfather’s death.”

 
     
“You do that, mother. You end up doing
what you want to anyway.”

 
     
“I will not stay here and be talked to
like that. Vincenzo, let’s go,” she barked at her husband who looked young
enough to be her son as well. Cassandra marched off with a hapless Vincenzo in
tow.

 
     
Gillian chose that moment to chime in.
“David, was it really necessary for you to talk to your mother like that? It’s
not like she was wrong. This was a touchy issue for your grandfather. I
understand why you did invite James but maybe out of respect for your
Grandfather—”

 
     
David threw his head back and laughed.
“That’s rich. You actually think I respected that degenerate. Good one Gillian.
And do me a favor. Don’t sit here and pretend like you give a damn other than
sticking around long enough to hear the reading of the will.”

 
     
Gillian’s face turned bright red. “David,
like your mother said, I’ll put this down as grief. I suppose I’ll give you a
little time alone to say your last goodbyes.” Gillian stood and walked away,
but not before smiling at James in the way she used to that would have him
eating out of her hand. When they were younger that smile worked on him, now it
left him cold. He nodded abruptly as his only acknowledgement.

 
     
With David and him as the only ones at the
grave, James moved around to the front and took a seat next to his brother.
Neither man talked as they both stared at the tombstone that headed the plot.
Sheldon R. Alexander.
Loving
Husband, Father, Grandfather and Friend
.
 

 
     
“I’m wondering if that’s the same Sheldon
Alexander I knew, otherwise the tombstone is lying,” James said to break the
ice.

 
     
David chuckled softly. “If it were up to
me, I would have simply put his name and be done with it. And I wouldn’t have
bothered with a tombstone except I need to know which grave to piss on when I
come to visit it again. Mother and Gillian insisted on the inscription, for the
sake of appearance.”

 
     
“Of course.
How
are you holding up?”

 
     
David shrugged. “You’d think I’d be doing
back flips. Ding-dong the asshole’s dead. But I just feel kind of empty. I feel
absolutely nothing, no anger, no sadness, no happiness. I just can’t wait to
dump all my stocks and just take off. I’ve got it all planned out. I’m in
discussion with my lawyers to liquidate all my assets and serve Gillian with
divorce papers. After the will’s read, I’m going to travel a bit and try to
figure out my life.”

 
     
“Did Gillian ask for a divorce?”

 
     
“She’s been frolicking all over the globe
with a man older than grandfather. My guess is she’s waiting until after the
will is read to tell me she wants a divorce but I plan on beating her to it.
I’ll at least get to salvage the little pride I have left.”

 
     
“I’m sorry, David.”

 
     
“Don’t be. Finally, I’m going to do
something I want to do with my life and I’ll have no else to answer to.”

 
     
“Where do you plan on going?”

 
     
“I’ll figure it out when I
book
my flight. Look, uh, James…about what you said before.
I’m not sure how this brother thing works. I’m not even sure how to be a good
friend, but whenever I’m done traveling, I wouldn’t mind maintaining contact.”

 
     
It wasn’t much, but James figured that was
all David was willing to concede at the moment. The two of them had been
through too much, and the acrimonious nature of their relationship had lasted
way longer than it should have for them to suddenly to become bosom buddies, so
James understood. “Yes, I’d like that.” James stood. “You probably want to be
alone right now, but I look forward to hearing from you.”

 
     
David nodded.

 
     
James took one last look at the grave
where the man who caused so much pain laid in his final resting place. And like
David, he felt nothing.

 
     
As he headed to his vehicle he was waylaid
by a frantic Gillian. She practically threw herself in his arms. “Oh James, I’m
so glad you were able to come. I’ll miss Grandfather so much.” Those crocodile
tears plopped from her eyes.

 
     
James looked pointedly at her hands
clinging to his suit. “Gillian, you’re crying like you actually care.” He shook
her off of him.

 
     
She sniffed. “Why are you being so cold?”

 
     
“Only minutes ago you were questioning my
appearance here.”

 
     
“Because I didn’t want David to think I
still cared for you. He’s terribly jealous of you.”

 
     
“And I wonder why?”

 
     
She blinked innocently. “I’m not sure what
you’re getting at.”

 
     
“It’s like you gave him a reason to be
jealous, but I have a feeling David will be just fine.”

 
     
She frowned. “And since when have the two
of you become so chummy?”

 
     
“I wouldn’t call us that but we’ve reached
an understanding.”

 
     
“It seems pointless to acknowledge the
connection now. He’s run the business into the ground and the Alexander name
has basically become a laughingstock in our circles. But it’s not too late for
us, James.”

 
     
Was she high? He could think of no other
reason why she’d be under the delusion he actually still gave a fuck about her.
“You’re kidding, right?”

 
     
“I know you might still be cross with me
for choosing David over you, but my parents were pressuring me to marry well.
And you know they depended on me to make a good connection. I wish I hadn’t
chosen convenience over love.”

 
     
“You do realize your husband is only a few
hundred feet away from us.”

 
     
“He won’t be my husband for long. I plan on
divorcing him. We can finally be together.” She clutched his suit once again.

 
     
“Gillian, remove your hands or else I’ll
forget you’re a woman.”

 
     
She gasped, letting go. “Why are you being
so cruel? I refuse to believe your feelings have changed for me.”

 
     
“That’s because you have an ego the size
of New York. I just didn’t see it then. Do you see your husband over there?”
James pointed in David’s direction. “You could have made the most out of what
you had with him but it wasn’t enough for you. I will admit that I did care for
you.
Once.
But not anymore.
But, you never loved me. Love means putting the other person first, something
you’re clearly incapable of.”

 
     
“That’s not true! I did love you. I mean I
do love you.”

 
     
“You loved the idea of fooling around with
the boy born on the other side of the sheet but you never had any intention of
being with me on a permanent basis, did you?”

 
     
“I want to be with you now,” she whined.
She seemed to do that a lot, a quality he hadn’t noticed until now. The longer he
talked to her, the more grateful he was he’d got a lucky escape from her.