Education of Simon Lane Page 5

  “You don’t understand, Lilly.” He leaned back and stared ahead.

  “I know what it’s like to not fit in. Look at me Simon. Too damn bright to be black, but not light enough to be white. I never felt like I fit in. Charles Rouilard raised me, but he wasn’t my father. I look nothing like my sisters. I know what it is like not to fit in.”

  “But Lilly,” Simon said, “Charles Rouilard loved you. He may not have been your biological father, but he was a father.” He stretched his neck to ward off the approaching memories of the man who had undertaken the task of raising him.

  “You never talk about your family Simon.”

  “That’s because I never had a father like Charles. I never knew him and my mother died giving birth to me. It doesn’t matter because you’re my family Lilly, all the family I want and all the family I need.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t hide parts of yourself from me. Listen to me, Simon,” she gripped his chin and continued. “I’ want to know all of you. Not just your outer layer, but the part of you that you’ve mastered keeping so well hidden. I wish you’d trust me as much as I trust you, and give all yourself to me.”

  “Lilly…” What could he say? How could he share his fear, give up his control, and risk destroying her, losing her by revealing the ugliness he was born into?

  “It’s okay. I’m patient.” She lay back against him and admired the ring on her finger. “Someday you’ll believe in me as much as I believe in you. Someday I’ll have all of you, Simon. In the meantime, I have enough for the both of us.”

  Simon held her close.

  Three weeks later, Lilly sat at her favorite booth at Jonas Bar and Grill, off Fifth and Dequincy, studying her design portfolio and waiting for Simon. She was always waiting for Simon, because the man had no concept of being on time. She glanced at her watch, and bit back a frown.

  “Where the hell are you, Simon?” She had an appointment uptown in less than two hours for her third interview at Mary Davidson Architecture and Design. She would either get the position or fall flat on her face if the interview wasn’t impressive and up to snuff. Lilly was counting on spending a couple hours with Simon to practice her pitch.

  So where the hell was he?

  He finally walked in, looking like a million damn dollars in his Italian-cut suit. As was the norm, her body reacted with a stinging jolt. Cream pooled around her aching pussy. Her deep brown eyes locked with his perfectly deep, ocean-blue ones, and Simon’s smile widened as he neared her.

  Simon wrapped his arm around her, cupped the back of her head and drew her lips to his, capturing them, and kissed her deeply as if it had been months, rather than hours, since he’d seen her last.

  “I can smell you, baby.” He murmured against her ear lobe. “I bet if I slid my fingers in your pussy, you’d singe them. Every single muscle would clamp down on them. Close your eyes baby. Think, think, think what it would be like if I were to haul your ass up on this table and have you for lunch.” His fingers fluttered on her thigh, teasingly touching her, slow and tantalizing.

  Lilly shivered.

  “Think baby,” he continued, “All these fine people would be simply shocked if I were to do that. They’d round me up and toss me in the nut house and the only defense I could possibly present is that I am crazy. I’m crazy for you, Lilly.” Simon captured her mouth, kissed her possessively. His tongue invaded her mouth and danced with hers. Lilly couldn’t help but moan and brought her hand to his face, resting her fingers just below his temple. He covered her hand with his, just before he pulled back, and as always, when he broke contact with her, he planted a quick peck of his lips to the tip of her nose.

  “Tell me you love me today, Lilly?” The first time he asked her that question was after knowing her a mere three days. Her response that night, and each subsequent time he asked—which was daily—had been, and would always be, the same.

  “I love you today, and all is finally right with the world.”

  Simon smiled at her reply and then sat back in the booth. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

  “You can’t smoke in here, Simon.” Lilly reached for the pack but he snatched them away from her reach.

  “I know that.” He tossed the pack on the table and scoffed, “I remember the day they banned the damn things—stupid fucking laws. There are far too many government regulations in our life, Lilly.”

  “Don’t start, Simon.”

  “It’s true, and you know it. I don’t understand your political choice. In addition to marrying me, which is saving you from spinsterhood, I’m going to bring you over to the right.” Simon winked and quickly dodged the pack of cigarettes that Lilly tossed at him.

  “Very funny. I’m perfectly happy with my political choice. I have no desire to jump over to the dark side.” She beamed, knowing he loved her smile. Her entire face lit up and her eyes sparkled. Then, she darted her tongue along her bottom lip.

  “Don’t do that.”

  “What?”

  “Show me your tongue,” he whispered.

  “Shut up! I can’t take you anywhere.”

  “Ah, but Lilly,” Simon winked, “that’s another of my problems baby, you take me everywhere.” Glancing at his watch he added, “I’m late.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know,” she chided, looking around for the waitress. Simon would be famished. It had been hours since they had breakfast and Simon had an endless appetite. When she first arrived at Jonas Bar and Grill, she ordered their meal and asked the waitress to bring it out when he arrived.

  “Now don’t be in a snit. I didn’t show up here 10 minutes late —”

  “Thirty.” she corrected.

  “Ten minutes, twenty, thirty, it doesn’t matter. Not in the big scheme of things. Besides, I have a damn good excuse this time.” The boyish, bemused look on his face melted her heart. She watched him as his eyes caressed her body with an intimacy that made her want to purr. He lingered on her nipples, which now stood at full mast against her white silk shirt. Lilly’s fingers itched to touch him.

  “What are you thinking?” Simon asked.

  “Nothing.” She cleared her throat. “So what is this good excuse you were going to share with me about being late?” She refocused her attention clearly on him, just as she knew he liked. Simon demanded her undivided attention. For Lilly, what Simon wanted, Simon got, especially from her. He was devoted to her in all the ways that counted, and she wanted to give as good—if not more—than what she got. That was why their relationship worked.

  “I had one hell of a morning,” he responded. “Sharon, who is supposed to be my assistant, called in sick today, and I was totally lost without her there. I fumbled around like an idiot. I’ve given that woman too much power.”

  “I find that hard to believe.”

  “It’s true. I have no idea how to do half the shit she does as smoothly as she does. Then Deb from accounting had an emergency and I had to put out that fire.” He paused again, this time to reach for Lilly’s ice tea.

  She watched as he brought the glass to his lips, her mouth slowly parted, mesmerized by the tilt of his head and his strong chin. Again she marveled at her good fortune. This man loved her! He loved her and wanted her with as much need as she wanted him. After downing the majority of it, he smiled apologetically before continuing.

  His eyes glittered as he spoke. “My biggest dilemma was the thought of you, every five minutes, prancing around in that black negligee you left strategically laid out on the bed this morning. I came out of the shower, you were gone, but there it lay. I’m going to spank you later for that.”

  “I’m counting on it. Sorry about your piss poor morning, baby.” She kissed his cheek for emphasis, and added “But Simon, right now, I need your undivided attention.”

  “That you always have.” He had a mischievous glint in his eyes.

  “I’m serious Simon; today is the interview, baby. I need your help.”

  “If you w
ere any other woman, I would think you were asking me to call and intervene on your behalf. You know, apply a little pressure to Ms. Davidson. But that’s not the case, because you’d never accept my help in that manner, right?”

  Lilly ignored his wishful tone. “You know how I feel about that subject. I want you to listen to my pitch and to be totally honest with me. Please don’t sugarcoat your opinion; give me an honest evaluation. This is important to me Simon; this is the pinnacle for me.”

  “You’re serious?” His voice wasn’t mocking but more incredulous. She looked at him as if he had lost his damn mind.

  “You’re kidding right? Jesus, Simon, all I have talked about, obsessed over, is that company. I’m so close, Simon. How can you not know how important this is to me?” Inwardly, she smiled at the grimace on his face and enjoyed the minuscule satisfaction it brought. Her amusement was short lived. Lilly kicked herself mentally for doubting him.

  “I didn’t mean to sound as if I didn’t know how you feel about the job.” He reached out and covered her hand with his. Jesus, now he was placating her. She wondered what the hell was with him.

  “Don’t patronize me, Simon.”

  “Calm down.” Simon squeezed her hand. “I’m not belittling your feelings or patronizing you. It’s bullshit that you have any doubts at all about how you’ll do. The job is yours.”

  “How do you know that, Simon? Please tell me that you are not the reason that I have gotten this far in the process.” Lilly held her breath, waiting for his denial, needing to hear it. For weeks now, she’d instinctively known Simon was up to something, and now she was afraid she had discovered what it was.

  “I’d never do that.” He answered quickly, too quickly. “I swear. I didn’t so much as make a phone call to get you in the front door. I wasn’t tempted to either, because I knew once they take a look at you, if they see one tenth of the determination and intelligence that I see when I look at you, they will jump at the opportunity to bring you on board. I predict you’ll waltz through the lobby and take the elevator all the way to the top. You’ll ace this interview, just as you have the others—with flying colors. I reiterate: you will be, and are, doing this based on your performance and merit. The position is yours, sweetheart, because you are the best.”

  “I want that corner office really, really bad. But more than that, I want to know I got it on my own. Not because I’m sleeping with you.”

  “That’s a really shitty thing to say to me, Lilly. And worse, it’s a terrible thing to say about yourself.” He narrowed his eyes at her.

  They stared at one another for what seemed like forever. Lilly knew it was hopeless. In the end, she’d forget everything he had said. She would believe him, trust him completely just as she always did.

  “You’ll listen to the pitch? And you’ll give me honest constructive criticism, right?”

  “Of course I will.” Simon’s smile broadened. He leaned forward and kissed her very slowly, drawing it out in his seductively Simon style. They both drew a sigh of relief; the tense moment was past, over, and done. Lilly reached for her portfolio but he caught her hand and stilled it.

  “We have a little over an hour before your appointment, right? So…please don’t get mad, but can we order first? I am starved.”

  She laughed at his request. It was so typical Simon.

  He reached for the menu.

  “I ordered a burger and fries for you when I first got here, rare with extra onions.” She spoke as she waved to the waitress, who smiled and nodded at Lilly.

  “And that is why I love you.”

  “It’s just a burger, Simon.”

  “Nope. It’s the thought, Lilly. Now, let’s hear your pitch. Although I know you’ll do good, great actually, let’s hear it. I’m all yours.”

  And he was.

  She just prayed that he hadn’t lied.

  Chapter Five

  Simon left the restaurant shortly after Lilly’s departure with two thoughts rolling around in his mind—to ensure Lilly would get the position at Mary Davidson Architecture and Design, and that she never discovered he interfered in the process. As he made his way to his silver Porsche, he pulled his cell phone from his jacket and placed the call to Ms. Davidson’s private line. He chastised himself for dropping the ball on this.

  The look on Lilly's face when he down played the importance of the interview pierced him to the core. The job was already Lilly’s, and the interviews she’d had thus far, and the one today, were simply a formality and a ruse. He’d pulled strings on Lilly’s behalf, and there was absolutely no way the firm would not hire her. Or there would be hell to pay.

  “Mr. Simon Lane

  , how did I know I’d hear from you today?” The voice echoing through his cell phone speaker was raspy and dull, just as the woman herself. Jamie Davidson Crane. Look up “sneaky bitch” in the dictionary, and there you would find a picture of this viper. How she managed to brainwash Parker Crane into marriage, and remain his wife for nearly two years, still amazed Simon.

  “Why are you answering Mary’s private line? Don’t answer that; just put your mother on the phone.”

  “I’d love to darling, but she’s in a meeting. I assume you’re calling about your pet? Simon, it isn’t necessary to harass us about this. We have you covered.”

  “I have all the faith in the world in your mother. You on the other hand, I’m not so sure of. You are a loose cannon, too stupid to know how dangerous you are.”

  “Now Simon, be nice. You wouldn’t want me to speak out of turn, now would you? I mean, I imagine you’d be in the dog house for minute or two if Violet somehow found out about your manipulations.”

  “For the hundredth time, her name is Lilly,” Simon corrected. “That joke is getting really old, really fast.”

  “Lilly, Rose, Violet, Marigold,” she said snidely. “Who cares? I don’t understand all the secrecy, anyway. Girls like that generally perform nothing short of fierce and heart-stopping, deviant acts of gratitude when their man presents them with the type of goodies you lavish on Jade.”

  “You stupid bitch, Jade is a stone, not a flower. Jesus, if you’re going to screw up her name, the least you could do is choose a synonym from the same category. Are you sure you’re not adopted? Your mother is one of the smartest, classiest broads standing, and you’re the biggest joke this side of the fucking river.”

  “Go to hell, Simon.”

  And run the risk of spending eternity in the same place as you? No, thanks. You can count me out, sweetheart.”

  “Simon, you’re so witty. When you get tired of your little flower, you give me a call, okay. I’ll let you tie me up and do all kinds of nasty things.”

  “Can we please get back to the reason I called? Lilly has an appointment later this afternoon with your mother. Ask Mary to call me afterwards. And by the way, Jamie, if you fuck this arrangement up, you’ll regret it. You’ll think the fucking Parker gave you when he dumped you was a walk in the park compared to the wrath I’ll lay across your ass if you do anything to create a problem between me and Lilly. Do you understand me?”

  “Simon, you can count on me. My lips are sealed. Trust me.”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “No.” She laughed before disconnecting.

  The feeling of imminent disaster magnified ten-fold for Simon.

  “Slow down Simon, what are you going on about?” Sean McKenna, Simon’s fraternity brother, best man, and best friend, spoke into the cell phone that he held in one hand, while the other continued to type across his keyboard. As C.E.O. of McKenna Industries, he’d learn to multi-task at an extremely early age. He also knew Simon well. Simply from the stressful tone of Simon’s voice, Sean quickly deduced that Simon had created—as usual—a situation that would affect Lilly adversely.

  As much as he loved Simon, he was the first to admit Simon spent the majority of his life hoping for the best but unconsciously doing everything and anything to see to it that shit went wrong. H
e was his own worst enemy; his actions were without a doubt a self-fulfilling prophecy.

  There were times Sean often regretted introducing his friend to his Little Sis, as he lovingly referred to Lilly. If Simon fucked this up, Sean would catch hell from Teresa, Lilly’s older sister and Sean’s woman. He shuddered at the thought of the Teresa’s wrath.

  He clutched the phone and listened to Simon’s meltdown. This was one of those times. When he made the introductions, Sean had hoped Simon and Lilly would be good for one another. But the asshole still insisted on being an asshole, and Sean was afraid that any day now, he would end up breaking Simon’s neck or kicking his ass.

  “Are you listening to me, Sean?” Simon yelled into the phone.

  “What the hell did you do, Simon? And keep your voice down.” He huffed.

  “Sorry. Shit, I think I have fucked up royally.”

  “Is Lilly hurt?”

  “No, of course not,” Simon growled.

  “Okay then, let me guess. You did not take my advice. You got involved with the whole job bullshit didn’t you? You dickhead!”

  “It seemed like a good idea at the time. But now, in hindsight, I’m not so sure.”

  “In hindsight… What is the problem?”

  “Jamie Davidson Crane is the problem.”

  “I told you Simon! You should have known she’d be involved eventually.”

  “Yes I know; my perfect plan is potentially down the drain because of that viperous, nosy-as-hell, vindictive woman. If Lilly gets wind of this, I will be more than screwed.”

  “Why are you calling me? You should contact Parker. He’ll put a clamp on that bitch’s vocal cord.”

  “I can’t reach him; Parker is incommunicado. It’s as if he has dropped off the planet. Have you heard from him?”

  “The last I heard, Parker was in Africa, immersed in the whole John Huston, white-elephant-hunter fantasy. But that was several months ago. I can make a few calls and try to track him down.”