Anyone But Him // Jake Seresin

Chapter Eighteen

Margot Mitchell
November
***Double Update Today, Make sure to read ch 17 first ***

    Margot sat across from Victoria Astor in a fancy restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. She thought this was a good sign, they'd hit it off well the first time they met and now she invited her to lunch. She wasn't sure why Jake thought she was such a wench, maybe at one time, but it looked like time had changed her for the better. His mom had contacted her that morning to see if she was free to go to lunch, and Margot had accepted the offer. She felt like she was on a high after exchanging 'I love you' with Jake that morning.

    Victoria smiled sweetly at Margot. "How was your drive in? The traffic is a bitch but it's not that far. I wish Jake came more often, but he makes sure he comes to see his Dodgers play before his mother." She shook her head.

    "It wasn't bad." Margot answered. "This view is amazing." She added, glancing around the terrace.

    "My favorite business spot in LA." Victoria replied, "Which is why I invited you. We have some business to discuss."

    Margot did her best to keep her face neutral. "Which is?" She inquired. She wasn't sure what business they could possibly have that required such a formal lunch.

    "You're going to break up with my son." Victoria told her. "I admire how career driven you are, but it's not what Jake needs. He needs someone who is going to support his goals and raise a family one day. He may not act like it now, but I know he craves that since he didn't have it."

    Margot jerked her head back in surprise. She wondered if she'd heard her right. "We've been dating three months, marriage hasn't even been on the table." She said, wondering where the hell this was coming from.

    "I saw how he looked at you. He's in love with you. Deep down he's a hopeless romantic like his weak father was." Victoria replied, "And this needs to be ended before it gets further along." She sipped her martini. "Margot, you're the girl he has fun with. Not the one he marries and has a successful life with. You're a beautiful little play thing for him now, and the fun will die off. What will happen is he'll marry you, get you pregnant with a child or two. You lose your cute little figure, he leaves you for a younger model. You're a Marilyn, he needs a Jackie." She paused.

    "I do give you credit for your job, but it's a problem. You won't have time for him or a family, even if my prediction wasn't accurate. I'd know. I didn't want any children, but my husband did. I gave him Jake, and he gave me my career. He was wealthy and funded my medical school. We both got what we wanted." Victoria told her. "This could have been avoided if he'd just married Ava. I set them up, but he broke the engagement off." She grinned wickedly. "You didn't know that, did you?"

    Margot felt her eyes glassing over, and Victoria sighed. "I'm doing this for you too. Save you the heartache."

    "You're psychotic." Margot snapped. She knew Jake wasn't as vapid as his mother seemed to think. "We're done here." She said, moving to stand up. Victoria raised her manicured finger.

    "No, we're not. Sit down, you little bitch." Victoria said, "You will break up with him. Or I will talk to my attorneys and get his inheritance cut off from his father's will. He may not care about the money, but he cares about the house he was left."

    Margot froze. This bitch was blackmailing her? She slowly lowered herself back into the chair. "I don't understand why you're doing this. You're hurting your own son." She told her.