HATE LOVE

What was I going to do? Wrapping my arms around my body, I slid down the wall as hot tears burned my eyes and trailed down my cheeks.

Chapter Two

Brick

From my window, the people below looked like ants. Little working ants, running down and across the streets, struggling to get from one place to another. Little angry ants, since it was New York City. Cars honked and brakes squealed as the traffic slowly crept across the four lanes. I watched them grimly. These days, the scenes below were my only form of entertainment.

My bed had been empty for far too long.

With the recent buyout of JVW Bank, I’d been busier than ever. Meeting after meeting, plane rides and board rooms. State hopping and press releases. The opportunities were certainly there to relieve some stress. I was one of the most eligible bachelors in New York, which always seemed a little laughable to me. I was definitely a bachelor, but an eligible one? That implied a wish to marry, which I didn’t have, but women always seemed to think that they could change that. There was more than just lust in the eyes of the women around me. I was a catch. As the CEO of The Bank of Manhattan, I had money and prestige, the sort of face that made most women steal second, third, and fourth looks, and a reputation for making women melt in bed.

The problem wasn’t lack of women. It was the type of woman that I attracted. The women in my industry left me cold. Scheming and deceitful, they were hungry for power, and most weren’t above fucking or marrying their way to the top.

They wanted control, and that wasn’t something that I planned on giving up. I liked my women nice and submissive. They did what they were told, and when I was done with them, they didn’t dare argue.

Sighing, I returned my attention back to my office. It took up almost the entire top floor of the building. Glass encased two sides, and it was decorated in white and mahogany. I liked things clean and uncluttered. There were two couches that I sometimes used for napping, and a coffee table facing a television. Four matching white leather chairs faced my large desk. There was a fake potted plant in the corner because I didn’t want to hire anyone to keep a real one alive. No personal photos. I never did understand the point of those. My awards and proof of my accomplishments lined my walls instead. They were the real motivation that I needed. Not some picture of a family that I didn’t give a shit about.

“Sir? Mr. Langston? Did you hear me?”

I returned my focus back to the scrawny guy sweating profusely in the chair across from my desk. Next to him, my good friend and business associate, Jim Rollins, smirked. “Brick? Care to share what’s on your mind?”

Narrowing my eyes, I glared at him. “What did you say?” What was this kid’s name again? Mark something or other. He was the nephew of a friend of mine, and while he was great with numbers, he was horrible with people.

Leaning over, he pushed a piece of paper closer to me. “These are the changes that we wanted to roll out for the former JVW Bank members as we ease them into our normal fees.”

“Fine. I’ll look it over. Anything else?”

Mark shook his head emphatically. “No, sir. Mr. Langston. I won’t take up any more of your time. Thank you.”

Jim’s smile only widened as Mark hastily stood and practically raced out of the office before I even had a chance to dismiss him. “Are they getting younger, weaker, or both?” he laughed. “Or perhaps you’re cracking the whip, literally?”

I ignored the remark. Although Jim and I had been friends for a long time, he always got a kick out of baiting me. “Have you seen this?” I growled, picking up the report and scanning it. My mind was occupied—and not with business.

“I did, and it’s fair, but I know you’ll want to scrutinize it. You’re a control freak, Brick. If you’d just delegate some of the responsibilities, you wouldn’t work nearly as much and you could have more time for pleasure.”

“I’m protective of my company,” I snapped. “And I delegate plenty. I’m about to delegate your ass down to the mailroom.”

Unfazed, he chuckled before studying me closely. “You blanked out there for a bit. That’s not like you. Regretting taking my advice last week?”

“The Sugar Daddy cruise?” I curled my lip in disgust. “That’s the start to all of my nightmares. A woman who thinks I’m going to take care of her for the rest of her life. Please tell me that you haven’t actually experienced one of those.”

Jim snorted.

“Please motherfucker. Of course I’ve been on dozens of Sugar Daddy cruises. How do you think my daughter was born?”

Oh shit, little Gemma? My goddaughter and the apple of my eye? Then again, Jim wasn’t sure who the mother was. He came home to his condo one night three years ago and found the girl wrapped in blankets and waiting for him. The note simply read I can’t. After a DNA test proved that the child was his, he took the bright girl in, and the rest was history. For all of Jim’s female bashing, Gemma was the love of his life. She had her father wrapped around her little finger, and it wasn’t hard to see why. The first time that I held her, I fell in love as well.

Not that I ever wanted one of my own. I considered Gemma mine, and that was good enough for me.

“All I want is something simple and uncomplicated. Someone to do what I want and then go away before finding another woman to do the same.”

Jim shrugged. “I don’t know, Brick. I think that takes too much work. What you need is one woman to do everything that you want. Be anything that you want in bed and then not bother you when you don’t need her. Unfortunately, it’s all about women’s rights these days.”

“Money goes a long way,” I said with a shrug. “Right woman, right conditions, I can make her do whatever I want and then pay her to keep quiet. Someone simple, sweet, and innocent. No manipulations or devious schemes. No lies or games.”

“Good luck finding one of those,” Jim snorted.

“What about that red head that you dated last year? The one with the impossibly long legs and the mouth made for sucking—”