A/N: Remember The Sims and The Sims: Bustin' Out for the PS2? Malcolm Landgraab is a wonderful, evil bastard.
He always gets what he wants.
Sitting in a booth across the other side of the bar, a woman with a fierce set of shades and a string of pearls around her neck beckons to him. Her hair is kept in a firm bun; he has yet to see another bun on a woman look so poised, so perfect. Yeah, he wants her. She sips on a margarita as he downs his Jack Daniels. When he finishes, he adjusts his black suit and waltzes on over, sliding into the seat across from her.
"How about taking off those shades so I can see your eyes?" he says in a husky voice. "I'm sure they're stunning." This woman doesn't flinch. She finishes the remainder of her margarita before pausing to think. She whisks off her shades and places them onto the table. He flashes a seductive grin, but beneath his charming eyes, he is ravenous. "And what is your name, you lovely creature?"
She draws her lips into a thin smile. "Mom," she says, lolling her head. "You?"
He tightens the tie on his neck and adjusts his top hat. "Malcolm," he says, offering his hand, and Mom shakes it. "Malcolm Landgraab. World renowned business tycoon with a huge mansion and no one to share it with." He gives a sly smile. "Would you like to go out on a date sometime?"
Mom leans forward and places her elbows onto the table, cupping her head in her hands. "You just met me," she points out, intrigued.
Malcolm grabs her hand and kisses the top of it. "And I am utterly captivated."
Mom laughs. "I can't say no to money."
Malcolm grins. "I can't say no to beauty."
He knows she won't admit it, but she's falling for him and not just his money.
"You love me, don't you?" Malcolm eggs her on as they stand together on the deck of his private yacht.
"I don't," Mom asserts. She lets the wind rustle strands of her hair. "I'm just in it for the money."
Malcolm raises an eyebrow in amusement, and the way Mom blushes when he comes closer to her suggests otherwise. He leans in for a kiss, and she reciprocates. Mom smiles, but doesn't press for more. She bites her lip and places a hand to her hip and it looks like she's got something to say.
"Say whatever it is you need to say," Malcolm says, almost as if it is a command. Although it kind of is.
"I'd rather not," Mom says, shaking her head.
"Say it."
Mom grits her teeth. "Oh alright," she says. She doesn't maintain eye contact. "I need a new place. Not for me, but for my kid. But I don't want you to give it to me or anything. I'm just looking to buy." She sighs dramatically. "I just want my kid to move out of the damn house already. It's time they grow up and get married and have kids of their own. I am in desperate need of grandbabies!"
"Say no more, my love," Malcolm says. "I have a place. A quaint little thing in the neighborhood. It's a bit trashed since my own no-good spoiled kids can't make anything of their lives. So I'll sell it to you at a… discounted price. There's just one condition."
"And that is?"
Malcolm grabs her hand and kisses the top of it. "You love me, so admit it."
Mom laughs. "I don't love you."
Malcolm grins. "I'll wear you down."
"My kid is married," Mom gushes, and she trips over the weight of her own happiness. Malcolm swoops in and is there to catch her in his arms before she hits the ground. He props her up. The expression on Mom's face is wholeheartedly exuberant. "I don't know if my old heart can handle all this excitement. It's all thanks to you, Malcolm. You've given me and my kid more than you've given your own flesh and blood."
"I'd give you the world," Malcolm says, intensity in his voice. "I mean it. I'm a very powerful man. I can make things happen. Just say the word."
Mom shrugs. "I think I have everything I could ever want," she admits.
Malcolm cups her face with one hand and strokes her hair with the other. "You know, I can give your kid the mansion if they would like." Malcolm smirks. "I'm building a better one, anyways."
Mom beams at Malcolm and grabs the back of his head, pulling him in for a deep kiss. "I love you," she says. It takes him by surprise, and it takes her by surprise too.
Malcolm grabs her hand and kisses the top of it. "Marry me."
Mom laughs. "Okay, fine. You finally got me."
Malcolm grins. "I knew I would."
"You're an evil man."
Malcolm refuses to turn around to meet Mom's gaze as he preens his white suit and fox pelt stole in front of his stand-up mirror. He can see the daggers in her in the reflection of the mirror, but his expression remains icy and rigid, unfazed. "So what?" he growls, adjusting his white top hat. "We're married." He can feel his heart pounding and his body seething. Mom's a beauty, but she can't hurt him like this. He can't let her. No one hurts Malcolm Landgraab. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me, sweetheart," Malcolm spits out bitterly.
She can't leave him. He loves her, so that means she can never leave him.
"I'm filing for divorce," Mom declares. The way she says it is so blunt. It cuts through him.
Malcolm whips around to face her with raging, pulsing eyes. "You want to divorce me?" he snaps. "Fine. I gave you everything you wanted. And now I'm going to take it all back."
Mom scowls. "You wouldn't dare," she hisses. "That isn't fair! I only asked to buy a house from you. I never asked you to give me the others!"
"I gave you those homes because I loved you," Malcolm retorts. "And because I thought you loved me." He grunts. "You just married me for my money."
Mom laughs. It's cynical. "I did love you. But the you I loved isn't the real you. I didn't marry you for your money. If that was true, why would I be divorcing you?"
Malcolm grins. He wants to slap her, but restrains himself. "Money. You want half my assets. But you can't win. I'm the most powerful man, and I have the best lawyers. I love you, but I'm sending you and your kid straight back to that shithole you came from."
"There you are, pig! Get back here!"
Malcolm swears underneath his breath. He never thought he'd hear her fierce voice or see her gorgeous face ever again, not after what he'd done to her. She's sporting a fuzzy pink robe, and her hair is in curlers while her face is cloaked in an avocado mask, but goddammit she is as beautiful as ever. More so when she is malicious and vengeful. Mom flips him off and curses him out in public. She is ferocity shrouded in fantasy.
When she attacks him, all of that attraction he had felt for her just now has shot straight back down to hell. She must have been working out or something, because her fists are reigning down and they are brutal. Malcolm yelps in pain. Screw this bitch and her punk ass kid for stealing his latest mansion, something that was never theirs to begin with.
Mom laughs. It's triumphant. "This is your just desserts."
Malcolm grins. He dusts himself off and adjusts his suit and tie. "Mark my words! I swear I'll get my mansion back one day! You won't get away with this!"
If there's one thing she taught him, it's that he can't always get what he wants. He lost the love of his life. He lost his mansion. He lost his fortune and his reputation and his pride. In that order. And even though he had sworn retribution, he never got the chance.
Which, naturally, pisses him off.
Sitting on a bench across the other side of the park, that woman, with her fuzzy pink robe and avocado mask taunts him without needing to move a muscle. Her hair remains in curlers; they say when a woman changes her hair after a breakup, she is a new person, completely moved on. Yet he wants to persist. She flings a piece of bread to a nearby duck as he scarfs down a leftover hotdog someone tossed in the trash. When he finishes, he adjusts his tattered suit and waltzes on over, sliding onto the bench right next to her.
"I can't believe how filthy you look," Mom says without batting an eye. She pinches her nose and scrunches her face, alluding to fact Malcolm hasn't showered in five days.
"I can't believe you're still alive," Malcolm sneers. He raises a brow. "And yet you haven't aged a day."
"Still as charming as ever," Mom drolls. "But just as slimy. You can take your business elsewhere."
Malcolm scoots closer, forcing Mom to sit at the edge of the bench. "I'm a changed man," he says smoothly.
Mom laughs. "You would spite me and my family the first chance you get."
Malcolm grins. "You know me all too well, sweetheart."
Fin.