by Lauren Wood
Hanging up with her, I counted the money in my wallet. I only had twenty three dollars. What was I going to be able to do for that amount of money? My weekend plans were quickly going down the tubes, but I refused to make a big deal out of it. This was most likely more of my father trying to teach me a lesson. There was no telling what it was about this time. I would just pretend like I didn’t even know and I wished then that I hadn’t told mom where I was. He was going to know that I knew. So I was just going to have to try my best to forget about it and not bring it up.
It was just a weekend. I can do this.
***
By Saturday I was miserable and even though I had scraped together another hundred from my room, I was still back to broke and without anything to wear. I ended having to use most of the money I had left to get there and then I had to wear something that I already had. It was humiliating in a way, especially with the people I hung out with, but it was better than staying home and letting my father win.
I was starting to feel like I was the one that had won. He had tried to show me and I was going to show him in the end that I was resourceful. If it hadn’t been so hard without money, I would have stopped listening to him a long time ago. But money made the world go round and I certainly didn’t want to do anything to actually make any. My dad had enough, so I didn’t see the point of why I should have to do anything. Wasn’t that the point of getting rich? So that you could give it to your kids and they would never want for anything?
After a beautiful day out on the yacht, instead of everyone staying on it, most of the rest of the group went to a local hotel. It would be more comfortable for such a large group, but I had to stay back. I said that it was because the weather was so pretty that I wanted to sleep under the stars, but in reality I just didn’t have the money for the room. Another embarrassing moment to add to the one when my card got declined.
That night as I stared out at the moon and it started to rain, I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to last long this way. It had only been two days and I felt like I was alone adrift in the world. It was far different without my father’s money to smooth over all of the ripples and I can’t say that I liked the feeling all that much. By morning I was miserable and ready to go home, but even then I had to wait for a ride to get me back home. I had never been so humiliated in all of my life.
It was the last day of the weekend and I waited anxiously for my parents to come back home. Neither one had called me and when I tried to call mom, I found that her phone was off. I was blaming it all on dad, sure that he was going through a teachable moment mood. I did not like it at all if I had to be completely honest. It was ridiculous and the more I thought about, the madder I got. If it wouldn’t have been such a horrible weekend, I may have stuck to the original plan to not let him know it bothered me, but it did and I was never one to suffer in silence. I waited up till almost eleven o’ clock, sitting in the front room, waiting for them to come in.
When they did I stood up and asked dad if I could speak to him after I gave mother a kiss on the cheek. I was shaking from being so upset and I still wasn’t sure what I was going to say. I never really did know. I just let it fall out of my mouth like word vomit and that was that.
He must have known what I was about to say because he didn’t ask me what was the matter until mom was upstairs and out of our talking range. That also meant that he hadn’t told her about his idea. That was an angle I may have to play later. It just depended on what he wanted to do and how this was all going to end. I wasn’t going to let him get me down and I knew that this was not a lesson that I had learned very well.
“So what is the matter pumpkin?”
His sweet voice was grating on my nerves and there was nothing I wanted to do less than talk to him.
“You know what’s the matter dad, so why are you acting like you don’t know? What did I do this time and what lesson am I supposed to learn? If you tell me now, we can save ourselves both a little bit of a headache. I just want this over with, so tell me what this is about and I will change it for you. I don’t want to have to have another weekend like this. Not ever again, so what do I have to do?”
“Get married.”
It was said quickly and quietly like he didn’t want me to really hear what it was that he had to say. “What?”
“I want you to get married Gemma. I have already picked out a perfect husband for you. I can’t take care of you with just money. You are going to need more than that and I want you to do this. It will set my mind at ease to know that you are properly taken care of.”
I was sure that a fly was going to land in my mouth, it was agape so wide. I couldn’t believe what he was saying. It was typical dad of course. He was so damn protective. Of course he would have already picked out a husband. I was twenty two years old and the last thing that I was worried about was a husband. This wasn’t the fifties anymore. No one got married at that age. He had me late, so now I was supposed to rush it along so he could be around longer. I had asked him before why he didn’t just go adopt a baby himself. And I was the unreasonable one.
“Dad, you can’t be serious!”
“I am Gemma. I have thought about this a lot and it doesn’t even have anything to do with grandchildren, though you know I would love it if you had some and soon.”
I sighed and I couldn’t believe that we were having this conversation, again. It was rather ridiculous and I wasn’t sure what to say anymore. What do I say to that?
“This is for your future. I know how you are with money Gemma. How are you going to take care of everything?”
Now I was supposed to answer and all I had for him was a shrug. I was still in my early twenties. Why did I have to worry about all of this stuff right now? He acted like he was on his deathbed and for a moment I thought that this was what it was all about. Maybe he was dying and he wanted me to get hitched so that I would be taken care of. Was that it?
“Are you dying dad?”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“You are acting like you are going to be gone tomorrow.”
“No, but your mother and I want to travel, be gone longer than a couple of days. How was your weekend?”
My face soured up and I pouted out my lips. “It was horrible and I think you know it. You are the one that made sure I was broke this weekend.”
“That is what it will be like all the time if you don’t take care of things or if you aren’t married to a man that can take care of you. I know you are young, but it is time Gemma.”
He made it all sound so rational, even though it was the craziest thing that I had ever heard. Did he hear himself?
“You can’t be serious!”
“I am and the way you are acting now just tells me that I am doing the right thing. I will give you a couple of days to get used to the idea and then you will tell your mother to start with the arrangements. She is not to know about this Gemma. As far as she is going to know, you and Keenan fell in love.”
I was starting to think that my father was crazy and Keenan sounded like a silly name. It was one of those times that I actually hoped all of this madness was just a dream. How could this be real?
**END OF PREVIEW**
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BE MY PRINCESS
Chapter 1
Chris
“I am glad you could make it tonight Chris. I know you have been in Europe for a while.”
“I never miss the Gala. It is the only charity event that I actually like coming to anymore and I didn’t even want to come to this one.”
Keenan agreed and I could tell that he was talking about all of the beautiful girls that were around. It was the first time I had seen him with his new wife though and I could tell from being around them that he was s
mitten with her and not looking too far. He hadn’t given much looks to anyone else and I found that a little different. The man used to be a worse womanizer than I was. What had changed everything so much?
“My wife wanted to come, though I tried to get out of it. She says that I should do more to help. It’s my duty or something like that.”
I started to laugh until I realized that he was being serious.
“Isn’t that Ronald’s daughter?”
Keenan said that it was. “Yes. We got married and everything changed.”
“I can see that. I also hear that you aren’t working as much anymore.”
“No, I would rather stay home. Made enough money for this lifetime I suppose.” He didn’t look so sure of that last statement and it made me wonder.
I had a feeling that was another bit of wisdom from the new wife. I certainly hadn’t heard him talking about such things before. Keenan was the man that never had enough. How had he changed so much in the last couple of months?
“I don’t think that is something you will ever hear me say. I was actually going to see if you had any advice of KTT. I know that you aren’t really dealing with stocks anymore, but since your father in law is God of all of that, I thought you might have some information that I don’t have.”
“You know, I really don’t know. I didn’t realize how far I was out of the loop until you asked me about it. I will ask Ronald or look it up myself. Damn, Chris. I have been in a fog lately.”
I saw that he was looking at his wife again. I could tell that something had happened to my old friend from college. He was not the same guy that I had seen a couple of months ago at a convention. This time he was scattered brained and it reinforced the fact that love had no business in my life. If that is what the results of love was. I didn’t want to have anything to do with it.
“Tell you what Keenan, why don’t you come down to the members meeting this weekend? I haven’t seen you there in a couple of years. They are having it in Jamaica. There will be hot women and beautiful weather. Get away for a bit so that you can get back in the game because you are getting rusty my friend.”
Keenan looked like he was going to say no, but his wife had walked in on the last part and insisted that he goes. “See, there you go dear. I know that you need to get some work done. Sounds like fun and you were just saying how you wanted to get back into it.”
I was thankful that she hadn’t heard the first part about the women, but it put the man on the spot and he wasn’t going to be able to say no. Not with her standing there. I had a feeling that Keenan couldn’t say no to his wife at all.
“Fine, I think I will Chris. It will be good to speak to some people that I haven’t seen in a while.”
I smiled at Keenan and told him that he made the right choice. It would be good to see my old friend again. I don’t know what was going on with him, but his wife seemed to run the show. We exchanged times and I promised that we were going to catch up this weekend.
Watching Keenan and his wife, I was even surer that I didn’t want to go that route. There was pressure to do so, always pressure to start a family like that would somehow facilitate anything in my life. Like it would fill a void that was there. I didn’t need a family to be fulfilled. I had everything I needed and conquering the world was enough for me.
Keenan smiled and touched his wife’s arm. There was a gentleness that I don’t think I even possessed. He loved her. I could tell from the silly little grin on his face. He loved her a lot and while others may have thought it was cute and romantic, I just didn’t want it to be me. I hoped I never smiled like such an idiot in my life. What fun would that be? One woman for the rest of my life? It sounded boring if I really thought about it.
Going to the bar, I tried to wash down all of the feelings that I was having and tried not to get too worked up over it. I felt like something was missing and there were times when I thought maybe it was a partner to share my life and wealth with, but now I was sure that it was something else I was lacking.
“You haven’t said too much tonight Chris and now you look so serious. What is on your mind?”
I turned to see Ashlyn standing next to me at the bar. She was ordering another glass of wine and peering up at me with those soulful blue eyes.
“Not much. Have you seen Keenan over there?”
Ashlyn smiled and shook her head. “He is a mess, isn’t it?” She said the same things that I was saying in my head, but her tone was different and if I didn’t know any better, she thought that it was a good thing. I didn’t see it that way.
“Yes he is, so why are you smiling about it like that?”
“What, can I not be happy for a friend?”
“I thought you two were more than friends?”
“No more than me and you. Keenan was looking for something else and he found it in Gemma. She is a real sweet girl. Have you talked to her?”
I had no intentions on talking to the vixen that had turned Keenan to mush. I was afraid that it was some kind of voodoo and I would be as helpless as he was. I couldn’t risk it. “No, but I know her father.”
“Gemma is so different than Ronald. You should say hi. She is a real nice girl and it changed Keenan around. Look how happy he is?”
I could see the man smiling from here. “Yeah I see him. I don’t think that they will be together that long. We will see. No one stays happy like that for long. It isn’t real.”
Ashlyn called me a scrooge and maybe she was right. I just wasn’t that type of guy. I didn’t think Keenan was either, so maybe that was why I found it so hard to stomach.
“I will take him out this weekend and see how he acts away from his little wife.”
Ashlyn just shook her head and told me that I was going to find ‘the one’ one day and things would be different.
“God, I hope not.”
***
Everyone I talked to today, it was all I heard, love and ‘the one’. I wasn’t looking for anyone in particular, but the tall blond from across the room caught my eye. She had a smile on her face that told me she was ‘the one’ for the night. I brought her home with me. It was something that I shouldn’t have done, but now I was stuck with a woman that was close to being teary-eyed for me not wanting her to stay.
“Was there something that I did wrong?”
“No Lisa, it isn’t like that at all.”
“My name is Leslie, not Lisa!”
The tears turned to anger rather quickly. I was surprised that I had gotten that close to her real name. I had known her a couple of hours and in my defense, almost none of that was talking.
“I am sorry Leslie. I will have my driver take you home or wherever you want to go.”
She looked crushed and I was just feeling aggravated about the whole thing. It was fun while it lasted, but it was time for her to go. That didn’t seem that hard to understand.
“I will get a cab. You rich guys are all alike!”
There were so many things that came to mind when she said that. I could have asked her why she was with us rich guys if we were all the same, but I knew that it had a lot more to do with the fact that we had money. We could see women like her coming a mile away.
At the benefit she was dressed rather slutty and then the eyes she gave me when she came up to me in the bar. I was on her radar as soon as I got there. I supposed that Lisa, or Leslie, knew who I was right off the bat. I wasn’t going to feel bad for not falling in love. I wasn’t supposed to.
“At least let me call for you.”
She put her hand up like she was disgusted with me. “Really, don’t bother. I will just leave.”
I agreed, but I still walked her down the stairs so that I could make sure she didn’t take something on her way out. As she looked back at me, I smiled at her and told myself that I was going to have to stop doing this. A hotel was just as easy and then they didn’t know where I lived. I had a feeling that Leslie was going to be a problem. I don’t know why, but as she was leav
ing, something told me that I was going to have to keep an eye on her.
I shut the door and told Fred to make sure that Leslie left the premise. I called her a cab, just to make sure that she didn’t try to say that they wouldn’t come. I left nothing to chance and this was one of those nights.
“Did you get a live one Sir?”
Fred chuckled as I gave him a dirty look.
“They tend to get mad when you can’t remember their names.”
Fred just shook his head and looked out the window at the woman we were talking about. I couldn’t believe that she was still on the stairs, but it was a long way down the mountain if you were on foot. My driver could have already been halfway to her house if she wasn’t so stubborn.
“I will keep an eye on her Sir. You should get some rest. It is already three.”
The time meant nothing. I never slept anyways, but I agreed with him and went in the direction of my bedroom. I was thinking about the night and no longer about the blonde pouting on my front steps. It was going to be a while before she left, but I trusted Fred to make sure everything went well. He had been with me for years and this wasn’t the first time that he had to get rid of someone for me. I doubted that it would be the last.
Then I started thinking about Keenan and wondering why I was so against meeting his wife. Was I really that worried about finding what it was in her that was lacking in all of the women that I met? I knew that my choices were not the best, but I wasn’t looking for a wife. I was just looking to have some fun. Life was too short for anything else.
Sleep finally caught up to me and I didn’t dream about anything. When I woke up the next day, Fred filled me in on how long Leslie hung around and that she did try to come back in, but the cab I called arrived and she finally left an hour later.
I was ready for another day, no longer thinking about the what-ifs. It was a waste of time. I was happy with how life was going so why was I looking for something to be wrong? Life was good. I needed to remember that and not let Keenan and his antics changed that.