Page 21 of Someone Like You

Casimir

“. . . s

igned all the documents, and the acquisition is complete.” I had only heard the tail end of that statement because my mind was a million miles away.

I stared out the expansive glass window over the city, and from my view, I could see The Vista.

That was one of the reasons that I decided to purchase a penthouse in the condominium building.

Although Jude had shown me all the amenities and his argument had been persuasive, it was simply because I could see that building from most places in Downtown Cherokee Springs.

Although I didn’t plan to be here much longer, it was still nice that I could temporarily see what would become my home.

“Sir, did you hear me?”

“I uh . . . Yes, Monica. I heard you.”

“Would you like me to schedule the meeting so that you all can begin to discuss transition details?”

“If possible, make it next Tuesday.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Have a good day, Monica.”

“You, too, sir.”

“Oh, and Monica?”

“Yes?”

“Please, call me Casimir.”

“Oh . . .” I could tell by the way she responded that she was startled and caught off guard.

But if I was going to discard this persona that I’d allowed to be crafted, then I was going all the way.

In some ways, I knew that I could never completely get back to my old self.

I had seen too much and been through too much ever to be that man again.

But I didn’t have to be who they said I was, either.

“Thanks, Monica.”

“You’re welcome . . . Casimir.”

I could even hear the smile in her voice as she spoke my name.

I ended the call and sighed. The sun was going down, and the lights were coming on all over the city to signal the day’s end.

I wasn’t looking forward to heading home as hundreds of thousands of people around the city were.

I had nothing to look forward to. But if I were to head to that building that I could see across the way, I knew that happiness would be waiting for me.

I had just completed the acquisition of The Apex Hotel and pulled it into my portfolio with my travel company, Atlas Dreams, and two other hotels that I owned, The Pinnacle and Edgewater.

From the moment that I married into the Huffington-Bradwell family, I had begun to etch out the plan to acquire my dreams. I knew that I didn’t want to be under their thumb for long.

I started the fledgling travel agency a little over four years ago, and I turned it into one of the top travel agencies in the country.

But I held it under an umbrella company, C.A.P.

Those were my initials, and not a single soul knew that I owned the company or anything under its umbrella. I wanted it to stay that way.

The way that I moved from the moment that I took those vows with Bethany was to secure my future.

I didn’t trust her and especially her father and grandfather.

If they sunk my battleship, I needed to make sure that I had a lifeboat to save me.

Only, that lifeboat had turned from a lifeboat to a cruise ship, and today’s final acquisition secured my position.

I glanced at my watch and realized that it was time to go home whether I wanted to or not.

It was time to let Beth know that I was moving out.

I planned to announce my resignation from Glenco in a few weeks.

That was sure to shake the foundation and make heads roll.

I wanted to do it in a way that wouldn’t have a huge impact on their stocks.

But if they gave me hell, I would give them terror.

“What do you think you’re doing, Casimir?”

I turned and spotted Beth standing in my doorway.

“What does it look like?”

She scoffed and shook her head. “It’s time for you to stop this foolishness. You’re not going anywhere.”

I sighed and ran my hand over my head. “Did you forget that we’re divorced?”

She shrugged. “So. People do it all the time. But then they remarry, or they remain divorced and just live together. We’re no different than anyone else.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

“You’ve stayed here all this time. What’s changed now?”

“I have a place.”

“Are you seriously leaving?”

“I told you that I was when the divorce was finalized.”

“You promised my father you would stay here in the house.”

“I did, but it’s become unbearable. You had to know the way you’ve made my life miserable since then that I would leave.”

“But you never did. I thought you were having a tantrum about our different positions on having a child.”

“No, Beth. I’m just ready to move on with my life.”

“And what about me, Cas?”

“What about you, Beth? You’ve got everything that you ever wanted.”

“I didn’t have a happy marriage.”

“That’s because you weren’t interested in a happy marriage.”

I regretted the words the moment that I spoke them. I knew that look in her eyes and the way she leaned against the doorway. Beth’s fingers went to the buttons of her blouse, and she slowly unhooked each one. She licked her lips as she sauntered into the bedroom.

“Listen, just go to bed.”

“Why can’t I go to bed with my husband?” she asked as she unclasped her bra and displayed perfectly pert titties.

Beth had always been a beautiful woman, and though she was tiny, she was shapely. She knew how to woo a man, and she was the epitome of a sexy siren. She wielded sex as a weapon and used it to control me at her whim.

When she walked up to me and reached for my zipper, I pushed her hand away. She looked hurt, but only briefly as she grabbed it again and then tried to jerk it down. I gripped her wrist and squeezed it tightly until she cried out, “You’re hurting me.”

“Leave.”

She released my hand and then kneeled before me.

Her hands gripped my thighs, and her mouth hovered only inches from my erection.

Though my mind said no, my body growled yes.

It had been four months since I last had sex.

And then only because she decided to use it as another method of control.

That time she had wanted me to attend a fundraising luncheon.

Beth dished out sex the way the mother of toddlers dished out snacks to quiet her rambunctious kids. I was done being her toy.

“Stop, Beth,” I grunted out.

I needed to feel her on me. My body desired to have her and to release the nut that hung low but demanded to rise and spew out.

Her fingers expertly pulled my zipper down, and before I knew it, she had my dick in her mouth. I was lost and weak. I grabbed her face and pumped into her mouth repeatedly, fast, and hard until my semen spewed down her throat.

Beth smiled up at me and asked, “Was that so hard?”

The disgust that I felt about her and my actions coursed through me, and it forced me to reach down and lift her. She giggled, mistaking my movement for affection. I carried her out of the room and down the hallway to the main master suite.

“You’re coming back to our bedroom,” she whispered as she kissed my neck.

As I stepped over the threshold of the room we once shared, Beth rested her head against my chest. I tossed her onto the bed and glared at her. I pulled my wallet out of my pocket and grabbed a few singles.

“The next time I need a whore, I’ll call a professional escort. Thank you for your services,” I snarled and tossed the dollar bills at her.

I turned around and left the room just as she threw something at the door and screamed bloody murder.

I knew there was no way that I would get rest tonight.

She immediately came after me, shouting and hitting me.

I grabbed the few bags I had managed to pack, along with my keys, my wallet, and my phone, and I headed to the garage.

She continued to scream as she grabbed my golf clubs.

I had just cleared the doorway when she landed the first hit to the back of my windshield.

The next hit landed on my bumper. Before she could get another hit off, I floored it down the driveway and away from the place I had called home for the last several years.

My mind turned to the one place that I wanted to be. The one place where I knew happiness resided.