My Restless Billionaire

Interference

Opening the door the bell rings above and James is welcomed by the old lady, glad to see her well, and without a cast, he greets her with a cheerful note to his voice, scanning the room he finds Jess in their booth by the window. She beams at him and just as quickly her face changes, awkwardly stepping forward to hug him but she hesitates mid way dropping her arms back down and giving him a shy smile before sitting back down. At a sudden loss at the awkwardness, he just smiles and sits down deciding to start with the business and see if she will warm up to him again. this is uncomfortable...I wonder what's up?

"The assessor showed up this morning," he starts trying to seem cheerful and she suddenly looks down at the table, avoiding his eyes. strange..." James, I... I don't...I got a call from your assistant just now" she starts and he looks shocked..." you did?" he asks not sure what's going on. "yes...Shirley informed me that you will be making an offer on the land and that I should accept... only what I asked for, and not try to weasel more money out of you just because you are sleeping with me...seeing as I'm not the only sleeping with you, it seems like you have your own harem. And apparently I am also not the first who has tried to 'wangle' money from you..." completely forgetting his manners he hisses "She did what!" James looks at her shocked, his features continuing and she seems to register the shock on his face when she opens her mouth to say more, but stops mid-thought...then continues " I thought we had a good time, and I never asked for more money, I even tried to tell you that the price is more than generous for the land, but You.. you insisted to have it evaluated, and now I seem like some gold digger trash..." she hisses, rising from her seat, her eyes filled to the brim with angry tears. What the hell? James shakes his head to clear the anger brewing inside, how can she think that he would talk to Shirley about his s*x life? Why would she conclude that he would be such a low life?... his temper rises dangerously fast, and he stands up, looking at her, trying to read her, not finding anything but hurt and anger he apologizes and leaves the coffee shop. The hurt in her eyes burned into his mind...and he can't do a thing about it...Jess stares after him, taken aback by his behavior. He doesn't seem to know what she's talking about? was she mistaken? Is Shirley more than what he said she was? Is he playing her? Is this a ploy for her to trust him and ignore the warning signs? Is this her red flags she had been waiting for? she needs answers... rushing out the door after James she finds him on the phone pacing at the end of the street and by the looks of it he is furious, seriously laying into whoever is on the receiving end of that call. Gesturing into the air as he shouts into the phone, " I told you it is for me....I told you I want to have it assessed, it had nothing to do with Jes... Jessica," he corrects and continues his rampage. " my s****l activity has nothing to do with it.... it is none of your business!..." " I don't care if you think this is just a silly rich man's game, this is what I WANT!, and what I NEED!." he shouts again, his words laced with frustration and exasperation " you would do good to remember you place, and quit trying to run my life. I am your employer, I call the shots, I am the boss. f**k! I am Waldon enterprises! ME! not you!" he shouts into the phone clearly at odds with what Shirley had said but then her mind registers what he said, He is Warldon Enterprises, her mouth hangs open, shocked, only now realizing that he is the infamous James Warldon, womanizer, and playboy billionaire, he played her, he has the potential to be even worse than her ex " I expect you to call and apologize to Jes. Jessica," he continues, " NOW!" he shouts into the phone in his hand, pulling it back he flings it across the street, shattering on impact as it lands against the sidewalk on the other side. Jess gasps and quickly covers her mouth in shock as she stares at him. He turns abruptly and startles as he finds her just a few feet away. Anger and frustration were written on his face, and a look of defeat she doesn't understand, am I wrong in thinking he could be like Andrew?. He moves towards her and she steps back, here it comes, the anger and abuse!... dropping his head in defeat "I'm so sorry she said those things to you, she had no right to, I never...I did not..." he starts then shakes his head, defeated by the fact he can't do anything about the damage that was just done to their relationship, and not sure how to move forward.

He bends his head and leaves with a stiff goodbye and a nod. Marching down the sidewalk he gets back in his car and drives off in a cloud of dust. Jess stares after him until he disappears from view, at a complete loss, what just happened, I thought for sure he would strike or grab me...he is not like him...he is different... she thinks as she heads back to the office, no words for what just transpired and she is not sure how to handle it. This Shirley was in the wrong obviously, feeding her false information, causing her to jump to conclusions, falsely accusing him of betraying her trust, not that she trusts him, he is a stranger after all, and making her think of Andrew and comparing James to him is so wrong...and then her phone rings, recognizing the number from before she hangs up without an answer. Only for it to ring again a moment later, rolling her eyes and with a deep sigh she answers " Dr. Jess, hello" " afternoon Jess, it is Shirley from" Jess interrupts her "It is Doctor Jess to you, and for your information, I don't need your hand-me-downs, I don't need your money and I sure a s**t don't need you looking down your snobbish nose at me, putting crappy ideas in my head, I have enough issues if my own to worry about, I don't need you adding to my list" Shirley clears her throat and apologizes to Jess for her comments and behavior, stating she was only looking out for him. They talk for a long time, Shirley confiding in her that James is under a lot of pressure and she worries, but this doesn't give her the right to do what she did, again apologizing she hangs up. Jess feels sorry for her, and her heart goes out to James, he told her about his insomnia, but she didn't realize that it was this extreme, she thought it was just a story to gain sympathy, he slept all night next to me, I mean, I figured it was a stress issue at most, she thinks as she puts the phone away and walks into her office, a patient waiting for her.

James skids to a stop outside the cottage, slamming the door he leaves the car walking straight into the forest. Not looking where he is going. He needs air, he needs it now more than ever, this quiet and this piece, he needs it to get his emotions under control. How could she, all he wants is freedom, a place just for him, a place where he can be himself, away from everybody and everything, away from pretentious, obnoxious, men and women... he wanders the forest, breaking through brush and bush as he stumbles blinded by anger and frustration. He can't take these people trying to run his life anymore, he wants out, he wants to break free...he needs to get away, he needs sleep, he needs control back in his life..."WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO FOR SOME PEACE??" he cries out into the quiet of the forest, tears running over his cheeks, frustrated he wipes at his wet eyes and his foot slips, he stumbled and hits his knees on the ground, his hands in the dust. Hanging his head, staying down in the dust he cries, the stress of no sleep getting the better of him, and the look in Jess's eyes flashes in his mind. The hurt look in her eyes like he betrayed her...All I wanted to do was give her what it was worth, not make her feel cheap or like I was above her, or I was trying to manipulate her, I was trying to do something good...

Rising he wipes his hands and knees, noticing the small scrapes and blood stains clogged with dust and sand, sighing as he stretches his legs and hands, dusting them on his pant legs. Wiping the last remnants of tears from his eyes, his face streaked with dirt and wet tear stains. Turning back he feels a change in the air. A crispness in the early evening. He makes his way home, It's almost dark by the time he gets back down to the cottage. The nighttime brings rain clouds, a storm brewing, much like the one inside James' soul. He wants this life, this close to nature and the things that matter, the things that make him feel alive, and give him peace. Maybe even a woman by his side, Jess intrigues him, she seems open to the idea one moment and then clams up the very next second. If he could buy break through those high walls... More determined than ever he walks in to take a shower before he can sit down and make a plan to talk to Jess and continue his pursuit of the property. He stumbles inside, his foot hurting from the stumble in the mountain, " Do you have any idea how worried I was? where have you been? What were you thinking?... What happened to you?..."