Diamonds Are Not Forever

CHAPTER FOURTY-FOUR

CHAPTER FOURTY-FOUR

Elliot

I called Frankie when I jumped in a taxi back to the city, in the best mood I'd been in for months.
"Finally, took you long enough. I've had Ashley on my case all night about you replying!" Frankie's familiarly irritating voice came through the handset, soft music and someone chatting away in the background – I assumed that would be Ashley herself.
"I apologise for my delay." I lied. I wasn't sorry for keeping them waiting, not even a little bit.
"So, a party at your place tomorrow?" I could hear his astonishment, it was no secret that I wasn't usually one for parties.
But, if throwing Juliette a 21st birthday party was what it took to make sure she wasn't around the Lumberjack whilst tanked up on alcohol. Well, that was worth the invasion of privacy.
She'd told me that her and Teddy were just friends, and I believed her, but I didn't trust him to keep his hands to himself. I'd seen the way he looked at her at Frankie's party, she was a fool not to notice how much her friend secretly wanted her.
I undid a few more buttons of my shirt with one hand, my phone held to my ear with the other. "Yeah, tell Ashley she can have access to my bank account to pay for anything she needs to throw Juliette a birthday party that's worthy of her."
After learning about what she was going through with her brother, she deserved a night to let off some steam.
"Wow," Frankie mocked me. "You're sweet on her, aren't you."
"She is my girlfriend Frankie." I muttered in explanation, but I couldn't keep the corners of my mouth from turning up slightly.
For all intents and purposes, Juliette St. James was my girlfriend where our family and friends were concerned, contractual or not.
There was a muffled conversation on the other end of the phone, then Frankie's voice came back clearer, filling the darkness of the cab.
"Ashley wants to know if she needs to organise a cake too?"
Juliette's Aunt had made her one, but that was half eaten already, so I veered on the side of caution. "Yeah, get a cake."
"You're not giving me much time to turn this around Elliot!" Ashley's familiar shrill voice called down the phone. I flinched at the sound.
"If you can't manage it just tell me, I'll gladly take over." I cautioned.
She huffed into the phone, clearly annoyed, that made my smile widen. Anything that annoyed Ashley Goulding brought me great joy.
"I can manage it."
Ashley passed the phone back to Frankie, "What's the plan then?"
"I'm going to pick up Juliette in the morning and move some of her things in to my place-"
Frankie interrupted me, "She's moving in?!" He half laughed half shouted.
I ignored him and continued, "Then I'll get her out of the apartment for a little while so you have enough time to set up everything you need to."
"Okay, shouldn't be an issue."
"Get Ashley to contact Rebecca, she has my card details and can help organise."
We didn't say goodbye, I just hung up the phone, I'd said everything I needed to.

I noddeda greeting to Barney behind the marble desk in the foyer when I entered myapartment building, his eyebrows raised high on his face when he spotted me.
"Mr Truman, you have a visitor."
I scanned the empty foyer, there was just the two of us.
He noticed my confusion, then elaborated. "They insisted on going straight up,said they had a key."
There were only a few people who had a spare key to my place, I figured Rebeccamust have been in contact with Ashley and used her emergency pass to come scopeout the apartment for Juliette's party.
"What did the visitor look like?" I questioned, falling in step with Barney aswe headed towards the lifts.
His brows furrowed in thought, "Petite woman, fairly tall. Didn't catch herhair colour though sir, she had the hood of her coat up."
It had to be my assistant Rebecca. Ashley Goulding clearly did not mess aroundwhen it came to party planning.
I thanked Barney and rode the lift up to my floor, a little miffed that myassistant hadn't bothered to let me know she was letting herself into myapartment. She was usually better than that.
When I stepped inside my apartment and closed the door behind me, I called overmy shoulder into the dimly lit room. "You could have let me know you were coming Rebecca."
"Hello Elliot."
That's not Rebecca's voice, that's...
I whipped my head around, my eyes greeted with the sight of incredibly long,stocking covered legs, crossed over at the knee. Above them, a half-naked andtoned torso molded into a fine Italian black lace bodice.
Maya.
In my apartments, on my sofa, dressed in lingerie.
My eyes narrowed.
"What the fuck are you doing here Maya?"
She let out a hollow laugh, taking a sip from the champagne she had helpedherself to, getting to her stiletto clad feet.
"That's no way to greet a lady who has so patiently been waiting for you toreturn home."
Despite her body on display, my eyes remained stuck to her face, burning intoher in the hopes she would burst into flames from my heated scowl.
She didn't.
I stalked towards the living room, anger twisting in my stomach with every stepin Maya's direction.
"Why. Are. You. Here." My footsteps matched each pause.
"Well," Her full red lips twisted into a smirk, "You've been ignoring my texts,so I figured I'd pay you a home visit."
There would have been a time where the sight of Maya like that would have beenmy undoing. Her small but perky breasts peeking through the barely there lace, herlonger than long legs spread shoulder width apart, inviting me in. I would havethrown her over the back of my sofa and fucked her senseless without a secondthought.
But not now, not ever again.
All I allowed myself to feel towards her was rage.
As I shrugged off my jacket, heat rippling through my body like a wildfire, Mayawatched my every move closely. Her ice blue eyes were glowing with confidence, greedily taking in the length of me.
"I've been ignoring you for a reason Maya, because I don't want you anywherenear me." I warned, my tone as flat and unfeeling as I could manage as I strodepast her, grabbing the open champagne bottle from the glass coffee table andtaking a swig from it.
I wasn't drunk enough for this.
She pouted at me, her go to expression for getting what she wanted. "I've beendoing a lot of thinking lately,"
Tracing her hand along the back of the sofa, she ran her long crimson nails against the fabric as she strutted around the furniture, until she was stooddirectly in front of me again.
Then, she sat herself down again, her legs spread wide as she continued her speech.
"We were great together, you and I. We were fucked up, but it worked."
I swallowed hard, nothing about the two of us worked.
We were catastrophic as a couple.
My vacant look didn't deter her from her obvious distraction techniques. Palmingher breast, Maya let her hand slide agonisingly slow down her torso until itlanded at the opening between her legs, my eyes following the path her fingerswere making as her nails scraped against the lace, teasing herself in front ofme. "I miss us Elliot, I miss what we were."
My gaze turned glacial as I snapped myeyes back up to her face, hating that I'd let her distract me with her body. "Andwho's fault is that."
Maya's confidence dipped slightly, a flash of annoyance marring her otherwise wellput together face.
"I made a mistake, you're not perfect either Elliot Truman."
Isn't that the truth.
Taking another swig of champagne, I walked towards the open fire pit, creating much needed distance between me and the succubus who had wormedher way into my apartment.
Maya had stopped her teasing, but her hand remained poised on her hip, commandingmy attention.
My jaw locked tight, "I'm not single anymore Maya. And, even if I was, I wouldnever touch you again if you were the last woman on the planet."
Her nose crinkled, my words not discouraging her as she trailed light as afeather stokes over the top of her thighs where her silk stockings ended.
"Ah yes, Millie mentioned a new girlfriend." Her mouth screwed up indisgust at the mention of Juliette, her raven black bob swishing along thelength of her sharp jaw. "Tell me, does she fuck you as good as I used to?"
Maya carefully shimmied off her thong as she coaxed me over with her eyes,exposing herself fully to me. Her face darkened as she discarded the scrap of fabricon the cushion beside her with ease, her words blistering in my ears.
"Better." I mouthed, running my hand through my hair in frustration andto distract my body as it begged to disobey me.
You don't want this Elliot, I willed myself. 
I gave her a passive look, Maya hated nothing more than being rejected.
That seemed to do the trick, Maya's legs snapped shut in an instant.
I needed her out of my apartment, before I killed her. Or worse, let her seduceme.
Filled with a determination that could take down a building, I prowled over to where she was sat. I wanted to intimidateher with my height, not that Maya Austen-Smith was easily intimidated.
She remained rigidly still, tipping her angular chin up so she could look up atme.
"Get out Maya." I spat, my hand flexing around the bottle neck still in mygrasp. "Leave me alone. And if I findout you are bothering Juliette I-"
"Juliette?" She puzzled, bursting into a fit of laughter when she finallyregistered who I was talking about. "You mean the dumpy looking girl from thegallery? That's your new girlfriend?"
I saw red.
The champagne bottle threatened to shatter in my hand, I was holding it sotight. It was quickly becoming a possible murder weapon.
"Give me my key. Get the fuck out!" My face felt like it was on fire. 
Maya didn't break eye contact as she dipped her hand into the left cup of herbodice, retrieving the key card I'd forgotten I'd given her and placing it in myoutstretched hand.
Her expression hardened as she grabbed for her coat and threw it over her bare shoulders,getting to her feet once more and side stepping my statue like stance.
"Fuck the fatty, if you want." She maliciously called over her shoulder, her stilettosclicking on the hard wood floor as she sashayed towards the door. "But I willget you back Elliot, and that's a promise."
When the door shut behind her, I threw myself down on the sofa and let out thebreath I'd been holding in. My lungs burning as I finished the rest of the champagne in thebottle and discarded it next to me.
Another perfectly good night ruined by Maya, I'd lost count how many there hadbeen since I'd met her.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, I fished it out and blanched when I read thescreen.

Maya: You've not seen the last of me, Elliot Truman.