CHAPTER ONE-Things Fell Apart

“Philip, come to bed, you must be tired.” A soft voice drifted out to him as he entered the bedroom.

Philip looked at his wife. Nothing in him stirred when he was near her, not even a little bit. He knew she married him for his wealth but that was their agreement. He would deposit money into her account every month and at the end of a year, he would let her go with a nest egg. She agreed and said the wheelchair didn’t bother her, but she was lying through her teeth. Twenty-Five thousand per month for a year and then one Million when they divorced. She would never make that in her lifetime.

She thought Philip didn’t understand her but he did. He placed cameras all over the house and she never knew. He would sit in his office and watch her move around the house doing nothing. She went into his personal belongings, searching for what he didn’t know.

“I’m not tired, go to sleep without me.” Philip said in a flat tone.

“What’s wrong Philip?” Kate asked sweetly but her stomach churned as she thought about spending yet another restless night with this man beside her. “I have work to do, go to bed.”

“Does it always have to be like this?” Kate asked softly with a strange look on her face.

“Like what?” Kate sighed and Philip felt her frustration but there was nothing he could do.

“I know our marriage was an agreement, but don’t you like me even one bit?”

 Philip frowned. He did not expect this.

“I’m sorry Kate, we never should have gotten married, and I feel I have wasted these few months of your life.”

“Well, I feel I took your money and gave nothing in return, we don’t have sex, you don’t even look at me with an ounce of want, we don’t spend any time together. Hell, we’ve never been out on a date. Why do you hate me? Have I done something to make you feel this way towards me?”

Philip smiled.

“It’s okay Kate, there is no animosity towards you, I know I haven’t even tried to get close to you and all of this is my fault, don’t lose any sleep over it.”

“We could try again, I’m not a bad looking girl.” Kate smiled.

“You are very beautiful, but I… I’m not in a good mental place and I’m sorry I have neglected you.” Philip chuckled at her expression and for the first time, he felt comfortable being in the same room as her.

“Don’t worry, one day you will find someone who will love you the way you deserve.”

He turned and wheeled his chair out and closed the door. His personal assistant stood up immediately, awaiting his orders.

“Andre, take me to the club.”

“Sir?” Andre let out a surprised response. Philip ran several night clubs in the most active parishes in London. They all operated under the name Kilox. In Christ Church was the Kilox Gold club for the mature crowd, in St. Stella was Kilox Silver for teens, twenties and thirties and Kilox Platinum St. Peter was for the very elite. Philip never visited the clubs; he paid well to have them managed and they were all successful.

“I know Andre let’s go to St. Peter tonight, I need a change of atmosphere.”

Andre arranged Philip into the car, and they headed out. “Andre?” Philip sounded from the backseat.

“Sir?”

“Kate will be leaving soon.”

“Best thing. Does she need to be watched?”

“No, I don’t feel I’m in danger, she isn’t a bad person, she just doesn’t need me.”

As they pulled up to the club... Philip decided to enter through the main door. He was greeted with disdain.

“Sir, no wheelchairs allowed.”

Andre made a move to intercept, Philip stopped her. Philip looked up at the camera he knew was aimed at the entrance and nodded slightly. A few moments later two of the biggest bouncers in the club came to greet him. “Sir, follow us please.” They ignored the protests of the man guarding the door and lead the duo into the noisy den of the elitist.

There were men in suits, and women dressed as if they were going to meet the queen. Philip always believed in separating the sheep from the goats. Some hated this mentality but if you think about it, sometimes you need to keep apart from one another. This club was exclusively for the rich and powerful, it was membership by invitation only. You made an application online, security checks were conducted and if accepted, you paid one million dollars upfront. Then, a Kilox Platinum VVIP Card was hand delivered to you. For the next year, you were afforded privileges fit for a king and you had access to all the other clubs under the Kilox brand. Only one other club on the island offered such treatment but that was a car club operating under the name of Rapid Drift Car Club and funny enough, the owner was a friend of Philip’s.

She gave him the ideas and he tweaked to suit the club and ran with it.

As a member, you could visit the club 24 hrs. per day, you had access to the best dishes and premium drinks on the island. If you wanted to sleep off drunkenness, a room was provided, if they were fully occupied, a driver would take you home safely. Philip also provided on-call lawyers, doctors, construction, insurance agents, you name it he had access to it.

This club had thirty thousand members. Philip did not tolerate drugs, prostitution, or any kind of illegal activity. Any member who violated the rules, was kicked out and the value of the balance of their membership was calculated and half of it was donated to a charity. Philip referred to it as administration expenses.

Andre pushed Philip to his private room and got him settled. She turned on the screen that allowed him to watch the show on the stage without subjecting him to the looks and scorns of the people who made Philip rich. They didn't even know who he was, but the wheelchair made them brush him off when they saw him. Philip smiled often when he heard the comments from his club's members. He didn't care, every million-dollar deposit that went into his bank account was worth the ridicule. They, came to him. As he got comfortable, something on the big screen TV caught his eye. There was a dark and sexy woman dancing on the stage in an extremely exotic pole performance.

Immediately Philip felt his entire body stiffen. Philip stared at the woman dancing on the pole. His reaction was instant and shocking. He almost grabbed the front of his pants to ease his discomfort. What the hell?

The woman was agile, skilled, well trained and she was sexy. Every part of her needed his touch. He motioned to Andre, pointing at the screen, to send the woman an invitation to his private room. Andre looked down at his face and she wondered what he was thinking. It was not like him to pick up strange women to take home before thoroughly vetting them and many nights, Andre ended up getting a taxi to take them home before anything happened. She shrugged and decided she would let him play this out. Maybe he just needed to let off some steam, he was a man after all.

Andre left the room, headed out to the main stage, and waited until the woman finished her set. As the woman came backstage, Andre motioned to her and a whisper to her ear, was softly delivered.

“Miss, the club’s owner would like to have a private meeting with you, please follow me.”

She blushed, nodded and silently followed the tall sexy female bodyguard. Yes, Andre was a woman, and she could throw you farther than she could see you. When Andre pushed the door of the private room, Maddy immediately inhaled. The room smelled of a fragrance she loved as a child. Eternity for Men by Calvin Klein. She always said if she could find a man who wore it, she would love him forever.

“Thanks Andre, Maddison, take a seat please.” Philip motioned to the seat opposite him as Andre swiftly closed the door and left. Maddy looked at the leather seats and decided to stand. She quickly took in the man she came to see. “Good evening, Sir, it’s nice to meet you. If you don’t mind, I just finished a set and I am rather… sticky, I don’t want to dirty the seats.”

Philip smiled “The pleasure is mine Maddy, I can afford to have them cleaned, it’s okay, sit, do you need anything?” Philip wheeled to a cupboard and pulled out a soft blanket and handed it to her.

“Just some water, thank you.”

Philip pointed to an ice bucket with several bottles of water chilling. Maddy walked over, took one, put the bottle on the coffee table, spread out the blanket and sat down.

“Now, let’s get a few things off the table, I need you to answer me honestly, then we will go from there, agreed?

“Yes sir.

“Philip is my name, for now, there is no Sir here.” “Okay.” Maddy whispered.

“Why do they call you Maddison?”

“Probably because my mother’s name is Mallison; she loves to watch me dance.” “Are you involved with anyone?”

“No.”

“I have two more questions for you, and they will determine if you leave or stay. Remember, I require honesty, don’t worry about offending me.” “Okay.”

“Does me being in a wheelchair bother you? If yes why, if no, why?”

“Yes. You wear it like a suit of armor. People fear your mental strength not your physical. No, because the chair is not who you are.”

Philip smiled.

“Last question. If I asked you to be my girlfriend, what would you say?” “No.”

The smile on Philip’s face faded a bit. Her answer bothered him yes and for some reason, her rejection kneed him in the gut.

“Can I explain Philip?” She asked quickly, not wanting the feeling that flittered across his face just then to remain.

“You may.”

“It’s clear you are wealthy since you own three clubs and whatever other investments. I am currently a nobody, dancing in a club so I can help support my family. People will talk and say I am only after your money. I don’t know you. The only way I would say yes, is if we spent some time together, talked. I would need you to know the real me and not who you see now, and I would need to know about you and why you use your chair as an excuse to be alone.”

Philip sighed. How did she know?

“Thank you, Maddison. You now have two choices, either stay and spend some time getting to know me or leave and forget this conversation ever happened.”

“How about I finish my second set, come find you and take you up on that offer.” She smiled and her eyes twinkled.

“Deal. Do you have a car? I can take you home if you like when we leave here.”

“My brother usually picks me up but thank you anyway for asking. My set is in a few, I have to go.” She stood at the door and paused, looking back. “Promise me you will be here when I get back.” She said hopefully.

“I promise.”

For some reason Maddy believed Philip, she didn’t understand it, but she trusted herself. Maddy smiled and left.