Tom Billionaire Ch. 05

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Putting my life back together.
23.9k words
4.71
75.3k
26

Part 5 of the 8 part series

Updated 10/27/2022
Created 04/18/2010
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****

-- CHAPTER 5: Malibu --

****

*-- JUNE, MANHATTAN, NEW YORK --*

I'd come back to America for a reason, and that reason was to put my old life back together. I knew I wasn't ready to see Taylor just yet, so a trip to Malibu would have to wait a little while. In the meantime, reconnecting with Ashlyn and Joey was priority number one.

At the same time, I didn't want to bring Evania and Vivienne with me to Ashlyn's place, knowing that the presence of my new girls would only complicate matters and prevent me from getting the quality time needed to rebuild my relationships with my daughter and ex-girlfriend. But I couldn't leave the girls to fend for themselves in a strange city, not yet, and I couldn't ask Kaitlyn to keep skipping work to escort them around town.

So I worked out a little arrangement with Ashlyn. I told her I didn't want to push her into anything she wasn't ready for, and that I didn't want to take up all of her time. I just wanted to visit Joey and get the chance to talk to her for an hour or so, and she agreed to let me visit in the morning and see how things went.

For the next two days, I left the girls in the apartment after breakfast, telling them to do some internet research or just relax. I took a cab over to the 5th Avenue Penthouse, played with my little girl, and got myself caught up on all the latest things going on in Ashlyn's life. We chatted casually, although I could feel an underlying tension between us. I didn't want to scare her off with proclamations that I still loved her and wanted to get back together. And she didn't bring up any more complaints about me abandoning her by disappearing for three months.

After those two days of visits, the good news was that Joey was getting more and more at ease around me. She remembered her daddy, and although the innate trust wasn't back to where it had once been, my little girl wasn't afraid to play with me.

The bad news was that I wasn't getting anywhere with Ashlyn. Rather than help us reconnect and remember how comfortable we were together, my visits only made the tension grow between us. She was repressing something when I was around her, and at the end of the second visit, she asked me to stop coming over for a little while.

"I need more time," she said apologetically. "Time to sort out how I feel about you."

"Three months wasn't enough?" I tried to joke.

"Those three months are the _problem_," Ashlyn snapped, looking frustrated. She squeezed her eyes shut and leaned against the doorjamb. "I'm sorry, but there's a lot of resentment I've built up that I have to get over."

"I know... I'm sorry."

"Stop saying you're sorry."

"But I am."

"It doesn't change anything." She shook her head. "You left. You're back. I've got to deal with it."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Give me time, okay?" she looked at me pleadingly. "I won't keep you away from Joey. She's your daughter, and she needs to know her father. But... don't come visit tomorrow, okay? Maybe not the day after, either. I've got a shoot in the morning, anyways."

I grimaced but nodded. "I'll call you?"

Ashlyn shook her head. "I'll call *you*."

"When?"

She looked away, staring at nothing. Her jaw clenched, and I saw creases forming at the corners of her eyes. But eventually, she sighed and shook her head. "I... I don't know."

I returned back to my apartment, feeling glum. Fortunately for me, Vivienne and Evania were only too happy to try and cheer me up.

****

Other than those morning trips to visit Joey and Ashlyn, the first couple of days were spent taking my girls sightseeing. We didn't have jobs, nor any plans to find jobs. The weather was fantastic. Crowds were lighter because it was still mid-week. And leaving the girls behind to research what they wanted to do ensured that I would have a full itinerary for the rest of the day.

It was a good thing I was kept so busy. Bouncing all over New York kept me from thinking too much about how my efforts to reunite with Ashlyn were going absolutely nowhere.

We visited the Empire State Building and took photos from the Observation Deck (Vivienne insisted that the third level of the Eiffel Tower still had a better view). We also went to MOMA and the American Museum of Natural History (Vivienne was confused that the interior didn't look anything like the Ben Stiller movie). And feeling nostalgic for my old style of traveling, I paid for a helicopter tour of the city.

But the day after Ashlyn told me to stop visiting, I took the girls down to Wall Street again. They were both curious about Jonathan Kwong and JKE, and when we got out of the cab, both girls just gasped at the sight of the massive tower with my name in big, bold letters over the grand entrance.

"You really own the entire building?" Evania gasped. It wasn't like she didn't know I was wealthy. But while she was used to private yachts and large mansions, 50-floor skyscrapers were something else altogether.

"The building, yes," I nodded. "But my company actually occupies only the top two floors. The rest is leased out to other businesses."

"Can we go inside?" Vivienne asked, wide-eyed and staring upwards.

I winced and shook my head, turning my back to the building. "Not a good idea. Someone in there is bound to recognize me."

Evania nodded her understanding, and then looked significantly behind me. "Almost certainly. *There* is someone that _*I*_ recognize."

I turned around immediately and saw a tall blonde exiting the double doors and turning left down the street. I didn't catch a glimpse of her face, but then I didn't need to. There was no doubt in my mind that it was Cassandra. It was in the way she walked. It was in the look of her hair. It was her entire being. It was my Cassandra.

Plus, Fat Tony was by her side. Part of building security, Fat Tony was 6'3", 300 pounds, and very good with a handgun. My family rarely brought security with us from the mansion to Manhattan. A guard would just get in our way during the helicopter flights. But upon arrival, anyone leaving the building would always have a bodyguard travel with them, even if it was just Taylor doing some shopping. It was a rule we'd been forced to implement after Sharpley stole all those billions, and there had been some concern of reprisal when we started getting it all back. And Tony was Cassandra's regular guard.

As I checked my watch, I already knew where they were headed. It was 11:30am, and Cassandra always liked to get lunch a little early to beat the crowds. So without even waiting for my girls, I set off down the sidewalk.

"Tohm? Where are you going?" Vivienne asked, hustling up to me.

Evania was beside her, already explaining. But less than a block later, my valet caught my hand and tugged me to a stop. "Sir, are you sure you want to see her? You told me there would be a risk of discovery if you and Miss Cooper were seen in public together."

She was right, of course. Tony would undoubtedly recognize me, and although I trusted the man could keep a secret, it wasn't a risk worth taking. I looked up the street, easily able to see the six-foot blonde and her hulking bodyguard despite the busy sidewalks. And after taking a deep breath, I nodded my head. "It is a risk," I agreed. "But I just want to see her, okay?"

Evania and Vivienne looked at each other for a moment, but said nothing. I'd always been in charge of this little adventure, and it wasn't their place to argue. So I set off again, knowing exactly where Cassandra was headed even if I lost them.

Sure enough, she and Fat Tony stopped in front of our favorite restaurant, Bobby Van's on Broad Street. Unlike Taylor or Ashlyn, who both ate like very small birds, Cassandra was a meat and potatoes kind of girl. We both enjoyed our steaks, even for lunch. And the clientele at Bobby Van's were well-heeled enough to not bother us even if they recognized us. Fat Tony would sure appreciate the food as well.

But they wouldn't be dining alone. A moment after Cassandra stopped, turning around enough to *finally* let me get a glimpse of her exquisite face, another man immediately walked up to her. Without preamble, he opened his arms and the two of them hugged warmly, with Cassandra even leaning over to peck his cheek. And as my blood started to boil at the idea of MY Cassandra embracing some strange man I didn't know, I finally recognized the newcomer.

_Barry???_

Special Agent Farnsworth stepped back and smiled at my assistant. My girls and I were half a block away, but I could see him say something that made Cassandra chuckle. A moment later, she gestured to the restaurant. Farnsworth crooked his elbow, Cassandra slipped her arm into it, and the three of them went inside.

I trusted Cassandra. She'd been my right hand for years and years. When I'd disappeared, she'd diligently gone hunting for me, so I knew that she cared. I knew that she would never... _ever_... cheat on me, even if I wasn't with her to be cheated on.

But then why was she having lunch with Farnsworth?

Unable to shake the niggling of doubt in my mind, I flipped open my cell phone and held down a speed-dial. Evania looked at me curiously, while Vivienne just seemed impatient. But two rings later, Cassandra picked up the other end of the line.

"Jon-... hello?"

"It's me."

"I know," she replied before I heard a rustle. "Excuse me," she said faintly, as if talking to someone else. And then I heard the clacking sounds of her heels on hardwood as she apparently moved somewhere to get more privacy.

"I nearly said your name and blew everything. Is everything alright?" she asked me.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just wanted to check in on you. It's been a few days now, and the last thing I want to do is make you worry about me."

"Thank you," she said with obvious relief. "I have been worrying, but Evania has been keeping me informed."

"She _has_?" I turned and shot my valet a look. Evania looked a little taken aback at my expression.

"Don't be angry with her. I asked her to."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. I really shouldn't have expected anything less. "Anyways, I wanted to know how *you're* doing. Where are you right now? It doesn't sound like the office in the background."

"Oh, I'm at Bobby Van's," Cassandra informed me.

"Alone?"

"Of course not. Fat Tony is here to keep me company. He's always eager to finish my steaks if I don't," Cassandra laughed.

I smiled thinly. Just Fat Tony? Was there a reason she hadn't mentioned Farnsworth? I wanted to trust her, but why would she keep that from me? Just what the *fuck* was going on?

But just as my blood started to heat up again, Cassandra was continuing. "And I'm meeting with Agent Farnsworth as well. After a few months with no news, there's been some new activity on the investigation. Barry offered to come to the office, but I decided I'd treat him to some lunch. After all the money they've recovered for us, I figure he deserves a good meal."

_Ahhhhh..._ I sighed contentedly, relaxing quite a bit at her honesty. I KNEW I could trust Cassandra, right? "That's good," I replied. "It's the least we can do. What's the news?"

"Oh, I don't know just yet. We were just sitting down and I haven't even ordered yet. I'll call you when this is through, okay?"

"Sounds good. I'll talk to you later."

"You will. And thanks for calling, Jonathan. I've really missed you."

I sighed, looking over at the restaurant. I rather missed the place, and I wondered if I could ever go back there again.

Then again, I really missed the company. Cassandra and I had shared hundreds of meals over the years at that place. And I wondered if I could go *anywhere* with her ever again.

"I miss you too."

****

It was Friday when I realized I had absolutely nothing to do. Sure, I could've just stayed in and fucked all day, but Evania, Vivienne, and I had already engaged in torrid morning threesome that pulled three cumloads out of me, and it was only 10am.

My priority was still to reconnect with Joey and Ashlyn. My ex-girlfriend's two-day moratorium on visits had passed, but she had not called me to tell me it would be alright to come by the penthouse. I briefly considered calling her, but thought better of it. She knew I was out here, wanting to visit. *I* knew that she'd told me not to call. And for now, at least, I'd best not ruin things by breaking her one and only request to give her some time.

The girls and I had done the sightseeing things that we really wanted to do around New York. Museums had been toured and monuments had been visited. Various international cuisines had been sampled, ranging from hard-to-find delicacies to common hot dogs from pushcart vendors. And of course, there had been sex... a LOT of sex.

We'd spent some time with Jeff and Kaitlyn. My friends were only too happy to entertain us, to chat, and of course, to have even more sex.

But now Jeff and Kaitlyn were at work, and I was at a loss for what to do. I could sit around, pining after my ex-girlfriend and wondering what my baby girl was doing. But that wasn't very appealing. I was used to keeping busy, keeping myself distracted, and I was running out of distractions.

So I decided it was time for my girls and me to keep exploring America. We'd spent enough time in New York, and there was a lot more country to see.

"Anywhere?" Vivienne asked me with bright eyes when I told her my plan.

"Anywhere," I confirmed. "For one week. Then we're coming back here."

"What if your girlfriend calls you and says you can visit again?" Evania asked, ever practical.

"Then I'll fly back," I answered. "She could call tomorrow. It could be next week. I don't know. Money is no object, here. Make travel arrangements, but keep things flexible, okay? I want to keep a *relatively* low profile, so no private jet. We'll fly domestic first class, rent cars, take taxis, whatever. Okay?"

The girls just looked at each other with big smiles. And as one, they turned and answered, "Okay!"

Evania had already been spending a lot of her free time doing research online, her old European Travel Agent-type habits surfacing. So it was an easy matter for her to start putting together an itinerary, of course with a lot of Vivienne's input.

Once Evania had a first draft, she ran it by me. It was pretty action-packed, and though anywhere is within reach when you're flying, she was trying to have us cover almost the _entire_ country in seven days.

"Let's scale it back for now, and take our time," I told her. "This won't be our only opportunity to visit these places. I promise you there will be other trips."

She nodded and worked to cut things down. I felt a hitch in my throat when I realized the girls wanted to see Mount Rushmore of all places. I still remembered how Ashlyn had joked about taking a photo of her, Taylor, and me having a threesome in front of those big heads. I wasn't sure I could actually go there without thinking of them, but fortunately, Evania crossed it off the list as there wasn't much else to do in South Dakota.

In the meantime, I settled myself in front of the TV, zoning out to whatever entertainment presented itself. I channel-surfed for a bit until a listing in the guide caught my attention. And despite the warning note in the back of my head telling me it was a bad idea, I found myself pressing the button to switch over to the afternoon edition of Celebrity Sightings.

I should have listened to the warning note.

The photo on the screen was of Ashlyn. There was no mistaking that gorgeous face, the copper-red hair, or the killer body artfully covered by a smoking hot green dress. There was also no mistaking that she was holding hands with a dashing young man, dressed in a fine Armani suit with a six-o'clock shadow making his already square jaw look even more masculine.

I must have missed quite a bit during my time away, because the breathy young reporter was going on about how Ashlyn had been seen on several occasions with one Nicolas Petrov, a Russian hockey player for the New York Islanders.

And then came the dagger. There was video of Ashlyn carrying Joey in her arms as they shopped at some boutique downtown. Charlotte and Evelyn were both in the background. And some paparazzi burst in front of them, asking, "What is your relationship to Nicolas?"

"We're just friends," Ashlyn replied dismissively, hiding behind her dark sunglasses and turning away and into the store, where the cameras wouldn't be able to follow.

But just before she entered, the same paparazzi asked, "And what can you say to the rumors that John Kwong has come back to New York?"

I expected Ashlyn to ignore the question and just go inside. But then they probably wouldn't have been showing this clip. And sure enough, she stopped right in front of the door and turned around. The camera quickly zoomed in on my ex-girlfriend's face.

"John Kwong is his own man, who can come and go whenever he wants," Ashlyn said tiredly. "He's moved on... And so have I."

The clip ended and the screen returned to the talking head. I tuned the reporter out and sagged against the couch's backrest, my jaw in my lap.

Just then, Evania came into the bedroom, holding her laptop with a brand new itinerary draft for our impromptu trip.

"Just one question," she began. "When do you want to leave?"

Still gaping at the TV, I shook my head sadly and sighed. "As soon as possible."

****

*-- JUNE (ONE WEEK LATER), NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA --*

"Mmm... How about... _her_?"

I set my wine glass down and leaned further back into my chair. Discreetly, I turned my head to look in the direction Vivienne's eyes had rolled. And with a bit of surprise, I raised my eyebrows. "Hmm. The waitress?"

Vivienne nodded, a hint of a smile on her face.

I glanced back over to the woman in question, letting my mind percolate with the possibilities. We were at Arnaud's, in the French Quarter. After a day spent watching the craziness on Bourbon Street, we'd retired to this more upscale establishment for dinner. It was a formal place, meaning I had to wear a jacket at the ladies were in nice dresses. It also meant that the waitress was more refined than the typical college-aged kids waiting tables in town, but she was still young and quite pretty, late-20s if I had to guess.

I knew why Vivienne had chosen her. The waitress was a busty redhead, and even I could tell she bore a slight resemblance to Aveline, Vivienne's best friend back in France. And as I looked over at the slender, attractive woman in the rather sexy black and white uniform, I recalled some of my fondest memories with the Three 'V's on the yacht.

"It's a little early to go girl-hunting, isn't it?" I asked quietly. Today was the seventh day of our impromptu trip across America. It wasn't the first time we'd picked up a strange girl in a new city, but we'd usually found them later in the evening at a bar or other spot for nightlife.

"But I want *her*," Vivienne stated insistently.

"You think you can get her?"

Vivienne nodded confidently. "She likes women."

I furrowed my eyebrows and frowned. The waitress in question was not ours, was clear across the room, and had not even spoken to us. "How can you tell?"

Vivienne smiled enigmatically and glanced over at Evania. My Greek valet nodded to me and touched her nose with a twinkle in her eye. "A woman knows," Evania stated knowingly.

I shrugged and smiled, nodding my head fractionally. Vivienne immediately folded her linen napkin, placed in on the table, and got up. Formally, I stood as well as she left. And then I watched her make her way toward the restrooms, a sway in her hips as she glanced over to the waitress across the room.

I don't know how Vivienne did it, but immediately after pouring her customer's wine, the waitress turned and headed back in the same direction. I got the distinct impression she was following my girlfriend. So shaking my head in amused disbelief, I sat back down and picked up my glass of wine.