The Stand Off
Authors: Z Stefani
THE STAND OFF
By
Z. Stefani
©Copyright Z. Stefani 2014
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses,
places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s
imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons,
living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
It was a dreary, grey washed day.
Thick drops of rain assaulted anyone daring enough to venture out under the
boisterous sky. The unusually thick fog and ominous howl of the wind governed
the city. The menacing state of the weather spoke volumes of the mood inside of
the large office building on Main Street.
Lux Hart sat in a large room
filled with sour-faced business men wearing expensive suits. She had taken over
an hour to perfect her appearance. She had pulled her long, dark hair back into
a voluminous bun and had kept her makeup very simple. She wore a fitted, black
blazer that accented her small waist and a black, button-up shirt. She had left
the top two buttons undone to accommodate her necklace but now she wished she
had buttoned them to the top. She wore a high-waist, black, pencil skirt and
black heels. She kept her jewelry to a minimal and modest, despite her penchant
for bold jewelry. She wore a slim, silver bangle and a multi-chain, silver
necklace. Her outfit had seemed very business appropriate at the time but now
she felt utterly fashionable in a tank filled with blood-money seeking sharks.
She knew she was way out of her
league, but she did not care. She was here for a reason.
She kept her head held high
despite her nervousness. These men ate weakness for late night snacks; she knew
there was no way she could win if they sensed her nervousness. Besides, these
men were not the ones she should be afraid of… she was waiting for that source
of overly-aggressive energy to walk through the doors.
As if reading her mind, suddenly
the large, double doors swung open and in walked the source of her frustration.
Dean Blake.
Lux sat at the table, eyeing Dean
as he walked towards her. She had researched all of the rumors about him, and
he did not disappoint; his large presence screamed of tyranny and aggression.
Not to mention his cocky demeanor was as obvious as the color of his eyes. The
pale grey orbs seemed to fit his insensitive personality as well. He wore his
arrogance with more ease than he wore his tailored suit.
“Even his walk is cocky,”
she thought as she refrained from shaking her head.
Although she hated to admit it,
he had a right to be arrogant. He was an intimidating figure: his 6 foot plus
frame towered over her as he stood on the other side of the table. His wide
shoulders and chest blocked the rest of the room from her view, and it felt as
if the two of them were suddenly alone.
She’d researched all the stories;
he was a ruthless business man. He was vengeful and eager to destroy those who
dared to oppose him. He was known for his quick temper, insensitivity, and
volatile moods. He was also extremely wealthy and had a lot of connections,
which did not help her current situation.
She shifted in her chair as Dean
stared at her from the other side of the table, his pale eyes boring into hers.
The arrogant look on his face was fleetingly replaced by confusion, which promptly
turned to irritation.
“Who are you?” he barked
impatiently.
“I’m Lux Hart.”
“
You’re
Lux Hart?” he
asked.
“Yes,” she answered with a nod.
She was shocked at the way his
deep, commanding voice seemed to slide down into her panties and blow against
her newly ignited vagina. It was the first time that hearing her name repeated
back to her had been stimulating. She shifted in her chair, stunned by her
reaction and confused by the hussy who suddenly possessed her body.
“Really Lux? 24 years without
a flicker of sexual activity going on in that brain of yours and now suddenly
it sparks? What the hell is wrong with you, you simpleton? You’re here for
business! This man is trying to destroy The Music Hall!”
She took a deep breath as he
placed the paperwork on the table.
“I need your signature… here,” he
pointed to the line with the red X.
As if she were registering
everything in slow motion, she looked at this thick finger and then the words
on the paper. She looked back up to him and was caught off guard by the look on
his face.
He was looking at her as if he
were bored with her very presence, as if she’d wasted his valuable time.
“Sexy and a pompous prick.”
She felt the annoyance ride up
her spine like a pesky insect. The strange sexual sensation wreaking havoc in
her nether region shut off like a light. The unease she had felt coming into
the meeting was now replaced by anger. She looked up at him, keeping her
emotions in check while the ball of fury began to build inside.
“Who the hell does he think he
is?”
She internally raged.
“I’m not selling my portion of
the building to you. I came here to talk you into selling the portion that you
own back to me,” she explained as calmly as she could.
“Then you’ve wasted my time;
that’s out of the question,” he said in no uncertain terms.
“You can see the dilemma. If my
mother had known that small portion of the property did not belong to her, she
would have purchased it as well. You must admit the circumstances are very
strange,” she tried to reason with him.
“I could care less about the
circumstances. I want you to sell your portion to me,” he said as the look of
boredom returned to his face.
It was more than obvious to Lux
that he wasn’t going to sell without a fight.
“No.” She raised her chin and
squared her shoulders.
“No?” He raised his brow as if he
were not used to hearing the word.
“No,” she repeated in a flat tone
as if she were the bored one now.
“Then you leave me no choice.” He
swooped the paperwork from the table and stared at her for a moment before he
spoke, “There will be a wrecking crew to tear down the portion that I own at 7
a.m. sharp.”
“You can’t do that!” she stood
up, all thoughts of being civil erased from her mind.
“I can do whatever I want with
what I own.”
“No you can’t!”
“You know the terms as well as I
do.”
“That is
my
building! We
fought hard to get it where it is; I will not sit by idly and watch you destroy
it.”
“Then don’t be there when I
arrive, and you won’t have to watch.”
“I won’t let you do this,” she
vowed.
“What choice do you have?”
“I have a choice.”
“There’s nothing you can do to
stop me.” He almost grinned.
“We’ll see about that.” She
grabbed her things and left the room with all the regality of a queen, despite
the rage emanating from her hazel eyes.
All eyes were on her as she
walked to the elevator. She held herself together as she walked in, but the
moment the elevator door shut, she growled and kicked the wall.
“Asshole!” She had never wanted
to choke someone so badly in her entire life; he was unbending… unyielding. She
kicked the wall again.
“You condescending, non-budging,
brick wall, spoiled, greedy…ugh!” she kicked the wall with too much gusto and
then winced.
The pain shot through her toes
and slowly spread to her ankle. She exhaled the deep breath she’d been holding
as she felt her body begin to relax around the pain. There was nothing like a
quick jolt of pain to grip the thought process and force it to slow down.
“He’s crazy if he thinks this is
over. This is
not
over, not by a long shot.” The elevator doors opened
at the precise moment she composed herself. She walked out as if she hadn’t
just lost her temper, assaulted the elevator, and mangled her foot.
“I will get you Dean Blake.
One way or another, I will win,”
she pledged. She kept her head held high
and walked to the front doors with an air of confidence, despite her slight
limp.
***
Dean was still staring at the
closed elevator doors after Lux had gone. She’d been a quick jolt to his
otherwise lackluster day. She was in and out like lightening; leaving him
stiff, shocked, and dumbfounded. She’d caught him off guard… he was
never
caught off guard. He’d never been in a meeting that had left him unsettled and
angered as well as stimulated.
“I didn’t expect that,” Johann
said to his older brother Dean as the other men began to leave the room.
Dean waited until the last man
had left before he spoke, “I expected her to sign.”
“So did I. No one has ever said
no to the all-knowing and all powerful Dean Blake.” Johann could not stop the
smirk from spreading across his face. “You look a little shaken.”
“Don’t you have work to do?” He
gave his younger brother a stern look.
Dean was a master when it came to
property; most of his deals were over quickly and always ended in his favor. He
wanted that property, and he would resort to drastic measures if need be.
However, Lux Hart, the little obstacle in his way, had upped the ante and
turned it from business to a bet.
She’d almost made it personal…
“And what a delicious little
obstacle she is,”
he thought.
She was all anger and
justification; he would enjoy breaking through her stony exterior. He’d get
that property one way or another. He always won… she would learn that quickly.
She was no match for him; she would learn that as well. Maybe he would sweeten
the deal for himself and take his little obstacle out to dinner.
“I bet she fucks as hard as
she fights,”
he thought to himself before grinning.
Watching her cum would be
amusing; watching her break when she changed her mind would be fun, and
watching her sign over the very building that she’d fought so hard to keep… would
be exquisite.
***
Lux stood before The Music Hall
and sighed in sadness. Once upon a time, the massive, two-story structure had
been a thriving factory. Soon after the company was shut down, the building was
taken over by squatters and began to deteriorate. Lux’s father had seen the
building’s potential and had struck a deal with the man who owned it. Her
father and mother had spent the next three years cleaning and fixing the place
up.
The bottom floor of the building
was sectioned in three, but the top floor was not. Her father had designated
the right section of the building and the enormous top floor for their home. He
turned the left section into a lounge that featured live bands, a make shift
dance floor, and cheap booze. Initially, her father had used the vast middle
section of the building for a record store but now it was The Music Hall.
Although the small record collection that her father had originally started
with was still for sale, the space was used for a much greater purpose.
Lux looked up at the sign on the
middle section of the building and thought back to the day that she and her
sister Pixie had designed it. After they had designed it, their adopted sister
Kiki had created the frame. Her sister’s best friend Lolo had painted it. They
had all worked together and created it by hand and now some greedy man wanted
to tear it down as if it were nothing. The building was filled with so many
irreplaceable memories… good
and
bad. Her whole life revolved around the
music hall, and she could not allow Dean Blake to destroy it.
Lux took a deep breath and walked
into her house. Although her heart was heavy, there was still a great deal of
anger. She felt like a caged animal, and she was ready to spit fire straight
down Dean Blake’s spine. Unfortunately, she would have to hide her true
feelings, lest she panic everyone in the house.
She hated to have to tell them
the bad news. She knew her mother would be distraught and would lock herself in
her bedroom. She walked inside and headed straight to the kitchen where she
could hear her sister Pixie and her adopted sister Kiki talking. She walked in
and sat down in the retro, red and white, diner style chair.
“Welcome back sister dear,” Pixie
said with a dramatic smile. Her waist length hair extensions were twisted into
an enormous bun on top of her head that looked heavy enough to sprain her neck.
The front of her hair was neon orange and the back half was pure white. She
wore flannel pajamas that matched her day glow orange hair and white fuzzy
slippers.
“Where’s mom?” Lux asked,
although she was relieved that Pax was not in the kitchen.
“She was tired, so she went to
bed. I made some snacks,” Kiki told her as she pulled out a large tray of
treats. Kiki was a proud, full figured, gourmet chef who preferred the fashion
of the fifties and played bass guitar. She was as elegant as she was sarcastic.
“How did it go?” Pixie asked.
“As expected,” Lux answered.
“Nothing was resolved?”
“No,” Lux answered in a whispery
voice and put her head down to avoid her sister’s gaze.
“I still can’t believe we’re
going toe to toe with Dean Blake.” Kiki shook her head as she grabbed the
bottle of wine and poured a glass for Lux.
“So now what do we do?” Pixie
asked as she snatched a peanut butter cookie.