Cruel Money

by K. A. Linde

  “I thought so. I was studying luxury fashion design and marketing at the French Fashion Institute while interning at Vogue Paris. I could swear that I saw you at a party held by Harmony Cunningham.”

  I opened my mouth in surprise. “I was at a Cunningham party. I worked for her mother for a time.”

  “I never forget a face,” Jane said. “I met Harmony through Bishop McHugh, the British diplomat while he was in Paris.”

  “Honestly, I’m usually better with faces.” In fact, I remembered everyone I met generally. I must not have been introduced to her or else it probably would have stuck.

  “Of course. Well, Bishop and global environmentalist Marin Russo’s daughter, Camilla—you know, she’s an up-and-coming Italian fashion designer—are helping to back my new club. I’d hoped to get Harmony involved. Is she going to be here tonight?”

  “I’m not certain,” I said, staggering over how connected this girl was. “But congratulations on your club.”

  “We’re just in the investment stage, but we’re getting there,” Jane said, finishing her drink and getting another one handed to her immediately. “Champagne?”

  “Oh, yes please.”

  I got my own drink and tried to ignore the tension settling between Penn and Court. Neither had said anything while Jane and I talked about our chance meeting in Paris last summer. And I knew that anything that came out of Penn’s mouth now would be far from pleasant. It would be better to extract us from this.

  “Why don’t we go dance?” I asked Penn.

  “All right,” he said.

  “Wait, don’t you want to do shots first?” Court asked. He snapped his fingers at the waitress. Actually snapped them. “Four tequila shots.”

  Camden smacked him in the chest. “One for me, too.”

  “Make that five.”

  “Oh, good. Tequila and champagne—the perfect mix,” Jane said dryly. “Can’t us girls skip out on this one?”

  Court grinned down at her, and she seemed to melt in the same way I did when I looked at Penn.

  “Do it for me, Janie. This is the first time you’re meeting my brother.”

  “Ah yes, Penn Kensington,” Jane said with a smile. “How are your classes? I knew Professor Friedrich Weber, who studied metaphysics back home in Germany. Of course, not what your focus is, but he certainly went off with a bang back home.”

  “Ah, Weber,” Penn said, momentarily stunned by someone who knew anything about philosophy. “I studied him some in grad school. He’s quite renowned.”

  “To be fair, his wife threw lavish parties that I attended with my family, and I know hardly anything about his work, except that he had exceptional taste in champagne, which I consumed rather frivolously.”

  Penn laughed, obviously charmed by Jane’s demeanor. She seriously seemed to know everyone. “Well, metaphysics can be dull, so I don’t blame you.”

  “Here you are,” the waitress said, holding a tray of five tequila shots.

  Jane sighed, and her wide hazel eyes stared back at me. “What do you say, Natalie?”

  “All right,” I agreed, taking the shot and lime.

  Court held his glass up. “To lingerie parties on Halloween. May we all find out if the ears match the tails.”

  Camden snorted. Penn rolled his eyes. Jane and I giggled. And then we all tossed our shots back with ease.

  “Whoa!” I cried, putting the drink back on the tray. My vision blurred for a second, and I teetered. I was really a terrible lightweight. “That was intense. Haven’t done that since college.”

  “Well then, you really must hang out with me some more. I might even be generous and invite my Court,” Jane said. She fluttered her eyelashes up at him.

  “Yes, Natalie,” Court said with a devious smile on his face. “Do come out with us more often. Any friend of Penn’s is a friend of mine.”

  “Is that how you want to spin it?” Penn ground out.

  Court just ignored him. “We’re going to the back room later if you and that halo want to join,” he offered me with a wink.

  “Uh…”

  Penn stepped between me and Court. “She’s not interested.”

  “Court, leave them be,” Jane said.

  Camden cackled. “As if little Natalie would be into that.”

  Penn looked like he wanted to deck his brother, and I already knew he hated Camden.

  “Come on, Natalie.”

  He directed me away from Court and Camden to where Lewis was dancing with some model in mouse ears. Rowe and his date were doing something that approximated dancing as well. Mostly Jessica Rabbit was throwing herself at him, and he appreciatively stood behind her.

  “Trouble?” Lewis asked.

  “Court,” Penn growled.

  Penn grabbed me around the middle and pulled me into him. His movements were slow and sexy to match the music. I could have gotten lost in him, but his interaction with Court was still caught in my mind.

  “Hey, what was up with that?”

  “Up with what? My brother?”

  “Yeah,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Why were you so upset with him?”

  “I’m always upset with him. But you don’t know him. You didn’t even realize what he was suggesting when he invited you to the back room.”

  I arched an eyebrow in question.

  “There are only two things my brother has any interest in—sex and drugs. Do you want to do either of those with him?” he snapped aggressively.

  “No,” I spat back. “But you don’t have to ask me about it like that. Why would I have any interest in doing anything with Court? I know that you said he’s a train wreck. I just didn’t know that you actually hated him.”

  The anger dropped off of Penn’s shoulders, and he sighed. “I don’t hate him. We just…don’t get along. We have a rich history of mistrust, and he has a constant need to make me miserable.”

  “Well, he’s not going to ruin our night.”

  “He has the uncanny ability to do that without trying.”

  “Who knows? He might surprise you anyway. He seemed pretty into Jane. Is that normal?”

  “Yes. He usually has some kind of woman who is infatuated with him. He destroys their life and then leaves them out to rot.”

  “Don’t know anyone else who has ever done that before,” I said with a pointed look.

  “That was different.”

  “Maybe,” I concede. “But only because we’re together now.”

  “He’s not a good guy,” he told me. “And…he doesn’t even care. He and I couldn’t be more different in that regard.”

  “You struggle with your demons. Your philosophical notion of right and wrong. And I adore that about you. It makes you so real, Penn. But you came around to that, Penn. He could still come around too.”

  “Unlikely,” he grumbled. His hands gripped the corset and then ran down to my ass. “Let’s talk about something else.”

  “All right, just forget your brother.”

  “I take issue with these wings,” he said.

  “Why?”

  “I want to turn you around, and they get in the way. Plus, I have a feeling, they’ll be a problem later tonight. I was thinking of throwing you against a wall.”

  I laughed and stood on my toes to kiss him. “Sounds like you’re going to make me lose my halo.”

  He smirked. “I’m a hundred percent sure that I will be the one to do that.”

  I swatted at him. “You.”

  He laughed and pulled me in for another long, sensuous kiss. Our bodies moved together in time to the music. Our hands drifted invitingly. I was half-tempted to grab him and drag him out of this party. I was in such little clothes, and he was taking full advantage of that.

  “Penn,” Lewis said suddenly. There was a note of something I’d never heard in his voice. Almost frantic. “Penn!”

  “What?” Penn asked. He whirled to face Lewis in frustration. He’d almost effectively slipped his hand inside my le
otard.

  Lewis tilted his head to the side. Penn looked like he was going to question what the hell Lewis wanted, but then he froze. He sighed heavily and then turned back to face me.

  “Can you excuse me for just a second?” he asked.

  “Um…sure.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  “All right,” I said warily. “What are you doing?”

  “I have to talk to someone. Dance with Lewis until I get back.” Then, he pointed at Lewis. “Watch your hands.”

  Lewis laughed and then sidled up to me.

  “What’s going on?” I asked in confusion.

  “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

  “You know, it’s amazing. When people say that, I tend to worry.”

  “There’s no reason to,” Lewis tried to assure me.

  But it was Katherine who gasped beside me. “Jesus Christ, when is Emily going to take a hint?”

  “Katherine,” Lewis ground out.

  “Who’s Emily?” I asked.

  “Penn’s ex-girlfriend,” Katherine said.

  She pointed to the front of the room. The thing about our booth was that we could see almost the entire first floor. And there, standing in the entrance to the club, was a girl with dark hair in a black patent leather cat costume that hugged her body like a second skin. Standing beside her with his hand on her arm…was Penn.

  My mind reeled a bit at the news. I hadn’t known that he’d had a girlfriend. When I’d asked about exes when we went sailing, he’d said there was no one important to talk about. And he hadn’t even wanted me to say. I didn’t know if that was a lie or if Emily really didn’t matter. And if she didn’t, then why was she here? And why had he rushed off to talk to her?

  “There’s nothing going on with them though,” Lewis added quickly.

  But my eyes were glued to him. I didn’t know what he was saying. And from a distance, it was impossible to read his expression. Except that they were speaking intently, and his head was tilted down toward her. His hand was still on her.

  And then they were kissing.

  My jaw dropped, and I whipped around, so I didn’t have to watch. Didn’t have to burn my retinas with that display. My stomach was churning. My head ached. Suddenly, I desperately wanted to be out of this room. Out of this party. Away from these people and this miserable world.

  “Fuck,” Lewis growled. “Natalie…I…”

  “Get me out of here.”

  “Natalie, maybe just talk to him?”

  “Please,” I asked with wide eyes.

  “God,” Katherine said, putting her hand on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry. I thought his meet-up with her last week had ended things. I thought that’s why you were finally together.”

  My head snapped to the side so fast that I got a crick in my neck. “That was who he met with last week? When he stayed in the city all night?”

  Katherine opened and closed her mouth. Her eyes were full of sympathy. “I’m sorry. You didn’t know that?”

  I wanted to throw up. That tequila shot and champagne felt like fire in my throat. And at any second, I might hurl. I was such a fucking idiot. Why hadn’t I seen it before? Because he’d said he was sorry and showed me the stars? Dangled a Tiffany’s bracelet in front of my face?

  Of course he was covering something up. Fucking fuck, fuck. I felt so stupid.

  “Now, Lewis, will you get me out of here? You offered to let me stay at your place once. Will you do it again?” I pleaded. I wouldn’t cry. Not here. Not in front of all of these people. Not when Penn was doing whatever the hell he wanted with his ex-girlfriend.

  “Okay,” Lewis said finally with a sigh. “Okay, I’ll take you.”

  I nodded, unable to get the words out, and followed him through a back exit and out of the club.

  Penn

  29

  I grasped Emily by her shoulders and shoved her away from me.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I asked.

  I couldn’t believe she’d fucking kissed me. What the fuck was she thinking?

  “Kissing you,” she said, batting her long lashes. “Haven’t you missed me?”

  “No!” I snapped. “What the fuck would give you that idea? I thought I’d made myself perfectly clear when I was in the city last week. We’re through. We’ve been through for a long time. And I’m not going to deal with any more of your bullshit.”

  “Wait, what?” Emily asked. Her eyes so dark, almost black, turned from seduction to confusion. “Katherine called and invited me to her party. She said that you’d had a change of heart.”

  I seethed at that comment. This fucking bet was ruining everything. I needed to end it. I needed to cut Katherine to ribbons and make her see reason. This whole thing was stupid. And bringing in Emily? That was low, even for her.

  “I have no fucking clue where she got that delusion. But I don’t want this or you.”

  “Fine,” she said, squaring off with me, as she so often had. It was something I’d admired about her, and now, it just drove me crazy. “Say what you want.”

  “You should go, Emily.”

  “You don’t control me, Penn Kensington,” she cried. She yanked her arm away from me.

  “There’s no reason for you to be here anymore.”

  “This is the biggest event in the city. I’m sure I can find someone to entertain me.”

  “Yes, I’m sure there are plenty of men here you’ve already entertained,” I said dryly. “Most of them while we were dating.”

  “I cannot believe I thought of giving you another chance,” she yelled at me. “You will never get over that.”

  “No, I won’t,” I said evenly. My eyes were dark and dangerous.

  I needed to get away from her. If she wasn’t going to leave, then I could have one of the security guards escort her out or something.

  “Excuse me,” I said, waving one of the guards over.

  “What are you doing?” she gasped.

  “Katherine Van Pelt requested that this woman be removed from the premises. She came in on a fake name and wasn’t invited,” I said harshly.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Penn!” Emily shrieked.

  I shrugged and turned my back on her. Now to deal with Katherine Van Pelt, who had started this whole mess.

  I rushed back to the booth Katherine had reserved for her event and found it surprisingly half-full of strangers. It looked like Camden, Court, and Jane had gone to the back room. Probably to do cocaine or whatever latest thing Court was into. Rowe and Jessica Rabbit were making out in a corner. Katherine was entertaining a posse of her minions. But no Natalie. No Lewis.

  What the hell?

  I strode up to Katherine and whirled her in place. “Why would you invite Emily here?”

  A slow, dangerous smile spread on her face. “Oh dear Lord…is Emily here?”

  “Don’t bullshit me, Ren. It’s me after all. She told me that you sent her here. Why?” Then I looked around again, and it dawned on me. “Where’s Natalie?”

  “She might have seen you and Emily kissing.”

  “We weren’t kissing,” I ground out.

  “Sure looked like it from our angle.” Her smile was triumphant.

  “Where. Is. She?” I snarled at her.

  I didn’t care that I was playing into her hand. That this was exactly what she wanted. She’d engineered this entire thing, and I’d walked right into it like an idiot. I should have known better.

  “I think she went home with Lewis. Maybe he isn’t really on your side,” Katherine said with a laugh.

  “The bet is over, Katherine. It’s done.”

  “Is it now?” she purred.

  “Forget about it. This isn’t fucking happening anymore. You can leave your games behind. I’m not going to play them anymore. I only did this, so I could spend uninterrupted time with Natalie in the first place. Now, I don’t give a fuck what you think.”

  “A bet’s a bet,” Katherine said
with a shrug. She stroked my cheek. “If you want to quit, I’ll be happy to collect early. Say tonight? My place?”

  “That’s not happening.” I swatted her hand away. “It’s over. I’m going to go make things right with Natalie.”

  “Well, I suppose I could tell Natalie the truth then.”

  I froze. “You wouldn’t.”

  “I mean…if you’re going to back out, then I think she probably deserves to know how you’ve manipulated her.”

  “I never manipulated her.”

  Katherine laughed. “Yeah. Sure. Why don’t we tell her and find out?”

  “I’ll tell her myself then,” I said, seeing my opening.

  “Or we can wait until the bet is over. We’ll find out who wins, and no one has to be any wiser.”

  I’d underestimated Katherine. Of all the people for me to underestimate, this had to be the worst. I had known what she was capable of. I had known the measures she took to win at all costs. I should have said no. I wished I could go back to that pool when it had suddenly become serious and just laughed and thrown the whole idea aside. But it was here now. We were too far in. And any way I looked at it, I was fucked.

  But right now, it wasn’t my biggest concern. The fact that Natalie had seen Emily kiss me. That she’d left with Lewis. I needed to talk to her. To explain.

  “Whatever, Katherine.”

  “Happy hunting,” she said cheerfully.

  I pulled out my cell phone to text Lewis and saw I already had a message from him.

  You’re such a fucking idiot.

  Yeah, thanks, man. I jotted out a text back.

  Don’t I know it? Is she at your place?

  Yeah, but I don’t know if she wants to see you.

  Be there in ten.

  I stuffed my phone back in my suit pocket, rushed out of the building, and hailed a cab to go make this right.

  Natalie

  30

  “Here,” Lewis said. He handed me a glass of amber liquid. “Scotch. It should help.”