L'Amour

i. Poppy Bettencourt

poppy

    Some people would say that I wouldn't be where I am today in life and my career because of my father Maxwell Bettencourt but think again. I've always been a very determined woman since my adolescence, being able to finally be out of his shadow and make a house whole name for myself; was all me and I'm proud. I graduated at the top of my class from Harvard Law when I turned twenty-four. Then not too long after, I started my private law firm in the heart of Washington, D.C. Spencer & Associates.

    My firm is catered to high profile and risk situations. Mob members, shady ass politicians, you'd be shocked by how many well-known people have come to me to fix their f**k-ups. Don't get anything twisted I'm no Olivia Pope-well maybe just with more of a curvaceous body and killer hair, but this woman isn't having an affair with the president.

    I have two older brothers, the eldest of us three is Leighton whose twenty-seven and then my baby brother Sterling who is twenty-two. The thing that captivates people when they see us together is our looks, but then when they figure that we're not only dashing good-looking but we're also freakishly intelligent... amongst other things.

    My eldest brother Leighton has decided to follow in our father's footsteps when it came to getting into politics which would be smart especially when it came to having permanent ties to the pride. My family or house is Maison Sérénité de Peur and in that world, I'm known as Princess Poppy of Maison Sérénité de Peur is the most feared mafia house in all of France; which respectably gave my father a say when it came to the Pride Family and that's a really important thing in our world. My family when not dealing with the pride is rather different of course to keep up the charade. I've actually always wanted to become a lawyer, then again I've always been able to talk my way out of any and everything. So I figured why not help others beat the system.

    Oh, and the answer is no. No, I don't participate in killing or anything like that, but that doesn't exclude me from keeping the members of the pride out of the jailhouse. My father too, of course, made sure that while growing up in France and before moving to America; my brothers and I have been through extensive training. Every family of the pride must train their children to protect themselves, to me they train us to be mini assassins when they turn fifteen.

    My brother, Leighton, wants to be apart of the senate and quite frankly that's a damn great idea. Especially with me gunning to become a United States Attorney. Our little brother on the other hand... still needs some time.

    That guy Sterling though he's the miniature version of our father, except having our mother's light brown eyes. And you better believe he has all the ladies dropping on their knees for him. My brother Leighton and I got our mother's looks Leighton took on the trait of my father's eyes with them being a blue-greenish color. With our father being white both of my brothers have a little tint to their skin, but me, on the other hand, I'm a complete replica of my mother. Dark chocolate and lethal.

    My mother Jacqueline is Ethiopian, she has pretty curly hair and a soft darkened complexion. She always used to tell me about how when I was born my father said 'finally we have one that looks like you'. My mother said that when they met in Paris and dated for a little bit, that my father always found her hair as well as her complexion extraordinary, maybe that's why he wouldn't mind when she asked him to do my hair as a little girl.

    Enough of family, let's talk business. At my firm, I only have four trustworthy people that work for me, and oddly enough we all graduated in the same class at Harvard Law. There's: Katherine Able who had an arm like Mayweather at beer pong and in the courtroom, Gianna Hagan who was the cheerleader with a 7.0 GPA which I didn't even know was possible, Kenneth Claymore the well-known frat boy with that can talk his way out of a ticket any day, and then there's Blaire Savoy my best friend who saved me from getting kicked out of Harvard because my phycology teacher decided to get handsy with me and spin this whole story to the dean about how I was violating the student moral code because I didn't want him, and Blaire shut down everything for me.

    And then there's Justin Leroux, yes that Justin Leroux. We happened to go to Harvard at the same time but he for business and me for the law. We had one class together where the teacher placed us together as partners, and then it was history. Justin and I were friends, really good friends-ok we had a little moment where we fell in love but that all went away once his family gave him the company right after he graduated.

    Then with his power-hungry father shoving this pretty blonde hair and blue-eyed Russian named Vivian down his throat, but that never stopped Justin and I. We kept seeing each other secretly for six years until I put an end to everything when I found out that he got her pregnant. From then on I cut all ties with him for a year now, hell I even went on a few dates; but it never seemed to compare to him, nothing ever did.

 •

    It was that day of the week that everyone hated, Monday. I always needed two Venti's from Starbucks to get me through the day. It's was around eight at the office and it was nothing but paperwork from the cases that I've finished the week before, I had no idea what everyone else was doing being as we didn't get a new case today yet and if I'm lucky I bet that Kenneth is either sleeping or f*****g someone in his office. There was a quick knock then the squeaking noise of my door opening, I looked up seeing a very nervous Blaire peeking her head through the crack of the door. "Blaire-"

"There are men in black trench coats walking in-" before Blaire couldn't even finish before Logan Weston was standing in front of my desk with his security detail guarding the outside of my office keeping Blaire and the rest out.

"Poppy, baby you just get hotter with time." He smirked sitting down in one of the chairs that were on the other side of my desk.

I closed the files that I was working on before he stormed into my office. "Logan, you know I don't like it when you show up at my office," I said truthfully crossing my freshly manicured fingers on top of my desk.

Logan chuckled. "How else am I supposed to get in contact with you-"

"You're not supposed to, I'm keeping my distance from anything that says property of Bieber on it."

"I'm no one's property baby girl." Logan is Justin's loyal friend s***h right-hand man if Justin asked something of him he would simply resist at first till he eventually asks how high. "But I missed my friend-"

"We were never friends." I snapped.

    Logan just smiled picking up my glass snow globe that my grandpa sent for me a couple of years back for Christmas. "He needs you, you know that right?" I sighed rolling my eyes his words.

"Well, that seems like something he should talk to his wife about." I smiled standing up from my desk. Logan was a gorgeous man, and it made perfect sense on why he gets whatever he wants but not from me. We're no longer friends like we were at one point in time.

"He's not the same Pop," I shook my head picking up the files from my desk placing them in the near file bin. "He's, different." I turned to look at him to see if he was just pulling in my leg or not because at this moment Justin was the last person I would want to be talking about.

"Yeah, well so am I." I mumbled finding myself back in my chair, I gazed back up at Logan whose eyes never left me. From when I've known Logan I always knew he was a horrible liar but his eyes told a different story, it told the truth.

"Can you at least handle his problem?" He bargained.

"What's his problem?" I asked reaching for a sticky note and a pen.

    Logan sighed heavily rubbing his freshly shaven jaw, "there's this girl that works in the building, they slept together and now she's out to get him." I didn't know how to exactly feel about what he just told me. Yeah, I'm angry at the fact that Logan feels entitled enough that he can storm into my office like he's the president and tell me how Justin misses me, but then tells me he needs me because he slept with someone that can't keep quiet. "She needs to go away and I know that you can make that happen." To most people, that kind of statement would land you in a station.

"And you really came to me with this?"

"You're the best,"

"No, I'm not."

"Now we both know that's a lie." He smirked at me. Logan stood from his chair stuffing his hands into his slacks. "I'm not a beggar, but I will beg for you any day Poppy Spencer." I pushed myself from my chair walking around my desk to meet him. Even in my stilettos he still towered over me.

"I'll think about it." I softly told him as I fixed his crooked tie smoothing my hand over it when I finished.

    Logan brought his hand onto my cheek bringing my head closer as he laid a kiss on my forehead. "It was nice seeing you again," he whispered removing his hand and making his way out of my office. I watched as Logan and his two bodyguards quickly made their way out. Seeing Justin was never my plan, I mean I have been avoiding his presence for a year now and I planned on keeping it that way until Logan showed up.

•

    After a long day of my best friend trying to reason with me on why I shouldn't see Justin again, and to be completely honest with you half of her reasons weren't bad either; but if I want to continue how I was living my life this past year then I needed to get this out of the way. That's what I've been telling myself, I keep saying that if I treat this as a normal problem then I can get through it; I need to burry those feelings that took me a year to get rid of.

    On the elevator ride up to the top floor of his office, I checked over my appearance in the reflective walls of the elevator. I dug into my black Chanel purse searching for my favorite lipstick called Spice and smeared a little over my top and bottom lip. My hair wasn't in its usual curly state because I straightened it in the morning so it went along with my outfit. I had on a black leather pencil skirt, that I paired with a soft blue sweater, and some black Jimmy Choo's. Once the doors opened revealing the white office space I instantly started to regret my decision.

    I stepped out of the elevator looking around at the employees quickly buzzing around the office, at his office, all his employees were always to wear black so every time you would you come it would look like something out of a movie. I walked around some of the people trying to reach Justin's hallway. "Excuse me!?" I turned my head seeing a blonde with a set of nice bonus check breasts rush towards me. "You can't just go back there," she told me out of breath.

"Ah yes I can," I scoffed walking pass her walking down the hallway finally reaching his office door. 'Justin S. Leroux CEO' it read. I placed my shaky hand onto the doorknob, "open the damn door, Poppy." I mumbled to myself quietly, I pushed open the doors finally seeing him. If that was even him. His hair was much longer but still somewhat kept. His head was still looking down at what he was working on.

"You know, the last person who didn't knock left the same day." He informed me, I kept quiet as I reached behind me closing the doors.

"No wonder they're out to get you," I spoke up. Justin's head rose at the sound of my voice, his face was the face of a stressed-out man. That's not how I left him, he was more...him. This person who starred back at me, I couldn't place. Justin placed his pen down onto his desk standing onto his feet. Our eyes never faltered from each other's, Justin took slow strides towards me, every step that he took made me play out different scenarios on what would happen. Would I run into his arms like once before and cry to him about how much I missed him and just take him on the floor, but I'm not going to do that. Not this time.

    I held up my hand stopping him from coming any closer. "You've come back." Oh god, I need to get this over with.

"No Justin, Logan told me of your problem and wanted me to help." Justin's face fell from my words. He couldn't actually think it would be that easy.

"Oh," he sighed. "That's why you're here?" He asked.

"From how Logan was putting it, you slept with the girl and now she won't keep her mouth shut." That may have sounded a little bitter, no emotion Poppy. "Is this true?" I questioned, Justin reached his hands towards my waist but I stepped back. "Don't touch me," I warned him but he didn't listen, as usual, he just wrapped his strong defined arms around my waist tightly pressing me against his chest. I tried to push myself free but that didn't work so I gave up.

    Justin slid one of his away from my waist placing it onto my cheek, no matter how angry I would be at myself later I couldn't help but lean into the familiar touch. Justin rested his head into the crook of my neck just pulling my body in more. "She didn't mean anything," I heard his breath against my ear making my body shiver slightly. "You're the love of my life." I couldn't take those words from him, he's been telling me that for as long as I've known him and look where it got us.

    I shook my head. "I was only your mistress." Justin's grip became increasingly tight as he lifted his head to look at me.

"You're so much more to me that," he seethed. "And you know that."

"Let me go," I demanded to try to break free once again.

"Come back to me." He begged before I was able to respond Justin did the one thing I knew would just ruin me. He kissed me. It was: deep, needy, and passionate all together. My fingers automatically found its way into his hair roughly tugging on it. His lips left mine and moved to leave a trail of hot kisses from my jaw to my chest, Justin gave my butt a firm squeeze making me moan.

    Once I came to terms with what was happening I quickly shoved him off of me. Justin stood there breathing heavily as he just stared back at me as if he was waiting for me to just jump back into his arms. Just the thought of him just expecting that from me due to that normally happening between us, we fight don't talk for a couple of months he finds me then we have mind-blowing s*x on something that he owns; well that's not happening this time.

    He f****d up royally and I'm not just talking about the skank that he decided to blow some steam off on, I'm going to handle her. I'm talking about his f*****g wife who he knocked up, he made promises to me and sold me pipe dreams. And I'm beyond pissed. "If you think for a second that you're going to get a taste of this fine piece of chocolate ever again, you have another thing coming." I quickly told him. "Tell Logan to expect a call from me tomorrow," I said opening his office door and walking out. "I need a drink."

•

    I should've been in bed over two hours ago, but here I am sitting on my sofa at one in the morning finishing what was left of my Dow Vintage Port red wine. I've been reviewing the file that Logan has sent me on this girl and to be honest, that's maybe why I finished the most expensive bottle of wine that I owned. He slept with my doppelgänger, literally! This Amani Young girl looked somewhat like me, same hair, same eyes, same everything. I knew I shouldn't have gotten involved in this bullshit, just starring at her picture just made me furious. How could he be with her? I know he told me that she didn't mean anything but now that I'm basically starring back at myself I'm starting to think otherwise. I know it's been a year since I've left him but you don't see me trying to find his double and f*****g them.

    My phone started to buzz next to me, I picked it up swiping against the screen and placing my phone against my ear. "Hello,"

"Do you still have it?" A raspy voice asked me.

"Justin-"

"Do you?"

"Why does your girlfriend look like me?" I asked picking up my crystal wine glass finishing what was left of it.

"Don't answer my question with a question."

"Answer me," I demanded.

"Don't demand things of me, Poppy?" He told me carefully. "You left me, remember? You ripped my heart out and never looked back." I really didn't want to talk about this while I was under the influence because even though I'm such a strong woman Justin would always get liquor in me so my walls could crumble away and I would be venerable, and I hated being that way around him.

"You know why I left, I had to leave." I sighed pulling my loose sweater tightly onto my body pulling my knees up to my chest.

"Come to the apartment so we can talk."

"Goodnight Justin." I scoffed hanging up the phone. I took one of my soft decorative pillows and placed it under my head. Why couldn't he just leave her as he promised me he would years ago? He said we would be all these things have all these children have the big dream house that would have a garden where I would plant white and red roses but did that happen? No, instead he got his wife pregnant with their cute little baby boy Landon; and that completely destroyed me.