Bad Boy vs Millionaire (10 page)

I
didn’t think Jack would want me to tell Angie about this anyway.

I
tried to remember what Eric had told me last time this had happened but all he’d said was that they left Jack alone.

I
grabbed my clothes and tried to dress as quietly as I could. I threw some other things into a small bag. I focused on doing what I had to do. I didn’t want to think. I didn’t want to let my mind dwell on any of the possibilities.

Then
I crept back downstairs, staying close to the walls so he couldn't sneak back up behind me. I slowly turned the handle on the front door, holding my breath, scared that even the sound of my breathing would wake him again. I didn't know why he acted like that or what triggered it but I sure as hell never wanted to deal with him like that again.

A
strange rumbling noise made me jump and pressed myself into the space near the door, trying to make myself invisible. After a minute, the noise still continued but nothing had attacked me.

I
looked over and realised Jack was on the couch, snoring in his sleep. What was in that man’s head that made him act like that? It had to have been something major that scrambled up his brains.

Part
of me wanted to go over and soothe him somehow but I wasn’t sure what I could do.

Once
I got safely outside, I got out my phone and called for a taxi. I had the keys to the new apartment in my bag and everything I needed there. I could come back later for the rest of my stuff.

I
couldn’t sleep at the new apartment. I checked the time. Again. Then I put down my phone. I couldn't spend all night watching the minutes tick over in front of my Jack Colt wallpaper. Erk, that pic was so crappy. I needed to change it so I didn't have to see his face every time I used my phone.

Angie
had snapped the photo during my homecoming party and set it as the wallpaper on my phone. Then she'd done the same to Jack. At the time, I had been secretly pleased. I would never have been able to bring myself to suggest something so cheesy but it was okay when Angie did it. She could do that kind of thing and make it a joke, yet real at the same time.

I
didn't even need the phone because I had a clock beside my bed, noisily ticking off each second. I turned my phone off to avoid the temptation of looking at that photo.

When
daylight crept through the gap in my curtains, I figured I might as well get up and do something productive.

I
thought about ringing Angie and getting her to come over. We could get coffee and bitch about Jack. But Angie would ask questions and have opinions. I didn't feel like coping with that right then. Instead, I decided to have a shower then run down to the shops to get some necessities.

From
the street outside, I could see all the way down to the docks, a sparkle of water framed by the towering buildings. I hadn't noticed that when we'd come to look at the apartment but then, maybe it couldn't be seen in the bustle of people and traffic during the workday. Now, the only thing moving was a garbage truck I could hear rumbling in the distance and a couple of eager suits rushing to their offices in the dawn light.

I
liked that feeling, as though I was the only person alive, even though it was probably only about half an hour until the morning rush started.

Most
of the cafes hadn't opened yet. I wandered to the end of the street, grumbling at their darkened windows until I saw a guy in black setting up tables.

“
You open?”

The
guy nodded.

“
Awesome.”

The
warmth of early morning baking engulfed me as I walked in. I needed more than coffee. I needed delicious bakery treats. I picked up a muffin to have with my coffee and some emergency back-up cookies for later. I'd definitely add this place to my list of regulars.

I headed home, pleased with my morning outing.

As I got out of the elevator in my building, I heard a whining noise. It had to be Vicious. I'd totally forgotten about Vicious but that's what I needed right now. A warm, cuddly puppy to comfort me.

“
Hannah!” Tamaki opened his door. “I heard someone out here and I hoped it was you. Can you help me with Vicious? He's been crying all night. I can't get him to settle down.”

Vicious
ran out the door, between Tamaki's legs and I handed Tamaki my coffee before scooping the puppy up in my arms.  His apartment must be really soundproof because I hadn’t heard a thing.

“
Poor little thing. It must be hard for him. He had those bullies being mean to him and now he's home with strange people.”

“
I tried everything, even singing to him and nothing has settled him.”

I
remembered Tamaki's singing from the karaoke and wondered if it'd just made Vicious worse.

“
He seems to be settling down for me.” Vicious curled up against me as I patted his fur. The cold tip of his nose pressed against my neck.

“
You must smell good.” Tamaki smiled. “He has been howling most of the night.”

I
shrugged. More likely he could smell the bakery treats on me.

“
I've heard puppies like to have a ticking clock near them when they sleep. Don't you have one on your bedside table? There's one in my room.”

“
I don't have one.”

Tamaki
followed me in and I gave him the clock. Good riddance to that noisy thing. Then I curled up on the couch and ate my muffin while Vicious sat on my lap trying to catch the crumbs I dropped.

“
Don't you have to get ready for work?” I asked Tamaki.

“
It's okay, I've just got some meetings this afternoon. I'm more worried about Vicious at the moment.”

Tamaki
smiled. He'd really grown attached to this little fellow.

“
You love dogs, don't you? You must've had a house full of them growing up.”

Tamaki
shook his head. “My father hates dogs. I always wanted one but it was impossible.”

He
bit his bottom lip and looked away. I figured there was more to this than Tamaki said but, before I could ask him more, someone pounded on the door. Then Vicious jumped up, barking like crazy. I'd not even officially moved in yet and I kept getting visitors. Maybe it was someone complaining about the dog noise. It couldn't even be Angie since she didn't know I'd come back there last night.

“
Do you want me to get it?” asked Tamaki as I tried to shush Vicious.

“
That's okay,” I replied and handed the puppy to him then walked to the door.

“
God, you are hard to find. I had to pester Angie to get your address. Bloody hell, Hannah. What happened last night? When I saw the empty bed and your stuff gone, I panicked.”

“
Jack. Do you have any idea…”

Jack
wrapped his arms around me, smothering me with his body. Inside me, the emotions whirled. Maybe I should’ve stayed with him the night before and ignored my own fears. Maybe he’d needed me.

There
was something different about the way he held me, like a smidgeon of vulnerability had seeped out through the cracks in his tough guy façade. I had to let him hold me and show that I wasn’t scared, that I hadn’t been scared off by the way he’d been in that state. Somehow, I knew that if I acted differently towards him, this thing would blow up to pieces inside him.

“
Fuck, I worried something like that happened.” He stroked my hair. “I can’t even remember… it’s not me, Hannah.”

I
wanted to tell him how I felt, all the anxiety that had been building inside of me. How I’d felt so scared. And I needed to know why he was like that. You couldn’t just act like that without wanting to understand why. He needed to see someone – maybe he already did and didn’t tell anyone. I wanted to say so much but, before I could talk, Vicious started barking again.

“
You have a dog?” He looked around trying to locate the noise.

“
We rescued it yesterday.”

As
Jack pulled away from me, Tamaki stood up from the couch.

“
It's my dog.”

Jack
looked from Tamaki to me in confusion. I sighed. This did not look good. Not good at all. Why couldn't Tamaki have just disappeared when he heard the knock at the door? Jumped off the balcony or something.

“
What the hell's going on here?” All the softness left Jack’s body. He balled his fists and his mouth became a firm line.

“
This is Tamaki. He lives next door.” I wanted Jack to understand. I wanted Jack to not make a fuss and realise that Tamaki was just a friend. No different than if Angie had dropped over.

Tamaki
stepped forward and held his hand out to Jack.

“
Hi, I'm Tamaki. I'm Hannah's fiance.”

Jack
totally ignored Tamaki's outstretched hand. He stood in the doorway, glaring first at Tamaki and then at me. His body tensed and I wanted to run to him and hold him.

“
It’s not true.” I looked up at Jack, hoping he’d believe me and not make a fuss.

Without
speaking, Jack moved toward Tamaki, shuffling closer and closer until Tamaki had to take a step back. The whole time Jack did not break eye contact, although Tamaki turned to me with a questioning look.

At
that moment, Jack looked dangerous and a little insane but part of me couldn't help but think it was hot as well. His eyes flashed with an arrogant contempt that would’ve had me quaking if I were Tamaki. But Tamaki didn’t quake. Instead, he looked down his nose, as though Jack was hardly worth his time.

The
ice cold of Tamaki’s stare met the white heat of Jack’s.

I
grabbed Tamaki's arm, pulling him away.

“
What the hell are you talking about? You are not my fiance. Why would you even say that?”

I
wanted to scream. He'd just said that to cause trouble and the trouble had truly been caused. It was exactly the thing I did not want to happen. Tamaki broke free of my grip without answering me.

They
circled around each other, sizing each other up. Both with nostrils flaring. I had to do something before one of them got violent. Jack was much bigger than Tamaki but, after seeing Tamaki in action with those thugs, who knew what he was capable of?

I
could almost smell the testosterone in the air and I wouldn't have been surprised if they’d started butting at each other like wild beasts trying to gain dominance. I held my breath, not knowing how to break them apart, when Vicious jumped off the couch and ran between them, barking at their feet.

I
picked Vicious up and held him to my chest, not wanting him to get scared by all their man shit.

“
Hannah.” Tamaki moved toward me. “You have to watch your reputation hanging around with people like this. He has tattoos. Are you sure he's not involved with the underworld? You could end up in a lot of trouble.”

He
smiled at Jack, not the glowing smile he used with me but a tight, thin-lipped grin of dismissal.

Jack
cracked his knuckles.

“
Listen up, I don't know what your game is but if Hannah says you aren't her fiance, then you shouldn't be telling people that. Hannah, are you going to put up with that? He's being a jerk. Want me to throw him out with the garbage?”

I
needed to get them to settle the fuck down. I moved over to one of the sofas and sat. It was not going be easy. In fact, I considered throwing the pair of them out and keeping Vicious, who seemed like the only sensible one even if he had shed a fuckton of hair all over my clothes.

“
It's okay,” I said, patting Vicious, “the silly men won't hurt you.”

They
both glared at me.

“
Sit down the pair of you. We need to get this sorted out.”

“
Or you could just throw him out and explain to me.” Jack walked to the window and stood with his back to me. “What the hell, Hannah? Are you leading some kind of secret double life? How do you go from bunking down at our place to shacked up in a fancy apartment with this guy within a few days of coming home?”

“
It's not like that.” I sighed.

“Like what? Has this been going on from before? Hell, I know nothing about your life. Maybe I should just leave you to it.”

“
Sit down.”

Jack
sat at one end of the sofa, his foot on his knee. Tamaki sat at the other end, his body turned from Jack. Where to start, I wondered. I knew I had to bring it all out in the open but it was such a tangled story. I needed Angie here. Angie was good with this kind of thing. No matter how I worded it, this whole situation would look ridiculous.

“
Okay, it's like this. I went to Tokyo, which you know. And my father, well this is pretty fucked up, but he had some offer to marry me off to this guy.”

“
It wasn't quite that mercenary, Hannah.” Tamaki looked hurt but I didn’t really care. If he was going to say ridiculous things, he couldn’t expect me to worry about his feelings.

“
It seemed that way to me. They thought we could get married and it'd solve all my dad's problems. Tamaki, well Tamaki's father, is rich. It's kind of complicated but you get the idea. Anyway, I refused. Of course. Before things got too crazy, I got Angie's message and came home. Then I found out Dad had organised this apartment for me. I didn't know Tamaki lived here until I got here.”

Jack
sprawled back on the couch.

“
So, what’s in this for you?” he asked Tamaki. “She gets a marriage and her father gets rescued and you get what?”

Tamaki
straightened up but didn’t make eye contact with Jack.

“
I’ve come to care about Hannah.”

“
Bullshit, you hardly know her.”

“
Hannah, I think we need to talk alone. You know this is a mutually beneficial arrangement and my father wishes ―”

“
And you got a dog together? Come on, Hannah, that sounds dodgy as fuck.”

Vicious
had settle down in my arms and I explained to Jack how we'd found him.

“
So this weirdo follows you halfway around the world, moves in next door then you go out with him rescuing dogs? That sounds a bit strange to me, Hannah.”

It
actually did sound strange when he put it like that, even to me. I couldn't explain how things just happened and how we’d had to go to lunch because we didn't want Tamaki helping me get my stuff in case Jack saw him and asked questions. Which was pointless now because it had all ended up like this, which was even worse.

I
don't even know why I needed to explain myself to Jack. It wasn't like I owed him anything.

“
I'm not a stalker. I had to come here for work and it was just convenient for me to organise both apartments in the same building. And Hannah, you haven't explained anything about this guy yet? Who is he?”

“
This is Jack. He's the singer of my band. And…”

I
wasn't sure what the “and” was. Boyfriend? Lover? Friends? How did you put a word on something that you couldn't define?

Tamaki
glared at Jack.

“
Okay, now that's all explained.”

“
Not quite,” said Jack.

Before
he could say any more though, I noticed a growing wet area on my lap. I screamed and ran in the kitchen for a cloth. Tamaki and Jack stared after me, wondering what was happening before noticing the puddle themselves. Poor Vicious, he’d probably been upset by the raised voices and everyone getting angry.

“
Vicious!” said Tamaki. “Sorry, I don't think he's house trained.”

“
Well, what do you expect, having a dog in an apartment like this? It's not like he can run outside. Dogs belong in proper houses, not apartments.”

“
Not that it's any of
your
business, but what were we supposed to do? Leave him abandoned in some laneway?”

Jack
picked up the puppy and scratched him behind the ears.

“
You could've taken him somewhere like Beagle Rescue. How do you know he doesn't belong to someone? It's not like he's a stray that was just abandoned on the street.”

I
ran into the bedroom to get changed, hoping they wouldn't kill each other before I got back although I was tempted just to stay in the bedroom leave them to it, let them fight it out. I hated all this conflict. It made my stomach hurt. I’d just tell Tamaki to give us some time and I’d explain it all to Jack. It’s not like I’d done anything to encourage Tamaki.

“
I think you should let me take this dog. I'd give it a better home. At least we have a garden. And I could get it sorted out.”

What
the hell? Jack was going to take the dog? I stood in the bedroom doorway watching them.

“
It's my dog. I can sort it out myself.” Tamaki moved to take Vicious from Jack but Jack kept hold.

“
It's obviously not working out. You know nothing about dogs. Just look at you.” Jack sneered and rolled his eyes.

Tamaki
took Vicious out of Jack's hand.

“
I'll buy you some new pants, Hannah,” said Tamaki.

“
Yeah, buy her a new sofa too.”

I
noticed the wet spot had got through to the sofa.

Jack
huffed.

“
That will solve everything. Just open your wallet and get whatever you want. That's a great way to live your life. People like you make me sick.”

Jack
ran his fingers through his hair.

“
And Hannah, why don't you marry him? You'd be rich again. You could go back to your fancy friends and your fancy clothes. You wouldn't have to worry about us or about money. No more slumming it.”

How
was this even a thing? I'd given no sign that I even wanted to marry Tamaki. Had I complained about money? Had I said I wanted to go back to that life?

“
I don't want to marry him. It's a stupid deal.”

“
But you moved into this apartment. It's quite a bit better than your last place. You could've told your father to stick it and found a place on your own but you didn't.”

I
didn't like the way Jack looked at me. I wasn't this person he tried to make me out to be. The idea of explaining things to him privately suddenly seemed stupid. He’d never listen to me. He was too busy getting all riled up about things.

“
I told you… do you even listen to me? I came back to sort out the deal for you. You should try to understand…”

The
ground between us kept widening and I wanted to run to him but I couldn't. The burning look in his eyes scared me. So burning I didn't know what to say. He could push me away so easily. Maybe it was some kind of defense mechanism, a way to put the walls back up around us but his defense mechanism hurt like hell.

Tamaki
just sat there, staring at us with a smug look on his face. That annoyed me too. This whole situation made my head pound.

“
Do it. Try it out. It's the life you wanted. Remember how you wanted to sell the band contract. You couldn't get rid of us fast enough. All you thought about was getting back to your rich life. Try it for a month and then decide. You can't live between the two worlds. You either have to give it all up including your father, who I think is a total idiot, or marry
him
and have it all. I'll give you a month. If you turn up to our first gig on the tour, turn up leaving it all behind. You have to be prepared to stand on your own two feet. Otherwise, don't turn up at all.”

Jack
sneered at me. He looked at me the way he did when I first started managing the band. When he thought I was an idiot and he wanted to get rid of me. Just like that, he’d managed to erase all the history between us.

“
What sort of a fucked up ultimatum is that? You can’t tell me what to do. I'm your manager. I have to be around.”

The
pounding in my head got stronger. I tried to control my voice but he made me so angry.

Jack
stood up and paced around the room.

“
Yes I can. Have you heard of Blainsley Management? Real bigwigs in this business. We got an offer yesterday from them. They want to take us on. I don't know the legalities of it but they'll get you a decent price. That's why we were so late at rehearsal last night. Discussing it.”

My
stomach clenched as though I'd been kicked. They'd leave me that easily? They'd been discussing it? This is why I could not trust Jack Colt. I turned from Jack but Tamaki sat with a smirk on his face, patting Vicious. He needn’t think that, just because I was arguing with Jack, I’d turn to him. This wasn’t an “either/or” situation for me.

“
I didn't want to even think about it but I can see your heart isn't with us. I don't want a half-arsed you in my life. I don't want this going backwards and forwards. Things have been rough for you, Hannah, and I know I've been a part of that. But if you can't be mine 100% then don't be mine at all. That's what I'm saying. You mightn't like it but you have to make a decision.”

I
flew across the room and punched him in the chest.

“
What the fuck? You’ve never said you wanted 100%. How can I be committed to you 100% when every time something doesn't go your way, you walk out? What am I giving 100% to? A less than 100% you? You are like maybe 65% at best. That's not good enough for me. I can't deal with the running away. And I can’t deal with the dishonesty. You’ve never been honest with me. I didn't say I wanted the money or the fancy life. You just assume that.”