Love And Money (Love Series - Book 2)

by K. L. Prince

  All she can do is wait for him to return her call or show up at Olivia’s father’s apartment later. All she can do is hope that Madison isn’t able to get a hold of Caden before she can speak to him. She feels completely helpless. She sits in her car, breaks down, and begins to cry. Tears of hopelessness fall from eyes fall like waterfalls.

  Chapter 7

  Caden unlocks the door to his condo. He’s stopped home after work before going to see Harper to pick up his cell phone that he mistakenly forgot when rushing out the door in the morning. He can’t help but whistle because he’s happy gets to be with Harper very soon. He’s been looking forward to seeing her all day. He clocked out early so that he could be with her sooner to the dismay of his father. His father didn’t want to him leave, but he didn’t care and left anyway. Harper is his priority these days. Work can wait.

  He can’t wait to see Harper’s beautiful face and hear her say his name again. He can’t wait to feel the warmth of her skin, kiss her soft lips, and stroke her silky hair. He doesn’t care what they do, as long is he can spend some time with her and relax. Seeing her and being her with wash away the strain from the day and he will feel brand new again. He is excited about the night ahead.

  When he opens the door, he is shocked to find Madison sitting on his sofa. “How the hell did you get in here?” he asks and then remembers that she has a key. He kicks himself for not remembering that she had a key and asking for it back. “Forget it. Give me back my key,” he says and slams the door to his condo.

  “Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m here?” she asks and slides his condo key off her key ring to give it back to him.

  “I don’t care why you’re here. I just want you to leave,” he says and takes the key from her.

  “I will leave, if you want me to, but not until I tell you a few things about your new girlfriend,” Madison replies with a big smile on her face.

  “Madison, I really don’t have time for this. I have to be somewhere,” he says, grabbing his cell phone off his kitchen table. He checks his phone and notices a few calls from Harper. He will call her when Madison leaves, which he hopes will be sooner rather than later.

  “Well, you’re going to want to hear what I have to say,” Madison says and clears her throat.

  “Alright, say what you want to say and then you’re leaving,” Caden says trying to push the conversation along, so he can get where he wants to be, which is with Harper with his arms wrapped tightly around her.

  “Well, I’ve found out some things about your girlfriend that I don’t think that you know,” Madison says and starts to fidget.

  “Like what, Madison? What do you know about Harper that I don’t know?” Caden asks, annoyed that he is even having this conversation at all.

  “Well, did you know that your girlfriend is a waitress and works in a total dump of a restaurant?”

  “What?” Caden asks, looking up from his cell phone.

  “I guess you didn’t know that, then,” Madison says, a smile on her face growing bigger. She’s struck a nerve and she knows it, so she continues. “Did you know that she lives in a complete shithole of an apartment and drives a beat up, rusted out Honda?”

  “What are you talking about, Madison? I’ve been to Harper’s apartment and it’s far from a shithole. She lives in one of the most luxurious apartment buildings in the city, so I don’t know where you’re getting your information from, but it’s wrong.”

  “I’m not wrong, Caden. I’ve been to her job and I’ve seen her working. I’ve seen the car she drives. There is no way she can afford to live anywhere that would be considered luxurious. I’m telling you, she lives in a bad part of town in a low rent apartment complex with her mother.”

  “Her mother?” Caden asks, shocked at the mention of Harper having a mother.

  “Yes, she lives with her mother. Oh my gosh, she lied to you about having a mother? It’s a fine piece of work that you’ve chosen for a girlfriend. What else has she lied to you about, Caden?”

  “It’s really none of your business, Madison. How did you find out what you know about Harper anyway? How can I believe anything that you are saying?”

  Madison looks guiltily down at the floor. She thinks about lying, but the truth will add validity to her story, so she decides to tell the truth. “I hired a private investigator.”

  “You what!” Caden exclaims.

  “Caden, I did it because I love you. When I met Harper, I had a bad feeling about her instantly. You know I have a sixth sense for reading people and she gave me really bad vibes. I couldn’t let you get hurt, so I hired a private investigator to look into her. If I hadn’t hired the private investigator, you would have never known that Harper isn’t who she says she is. If I hadn’t hired a private investigator, Harper would have continued on playing you for a fool. Would you really want that? Even if you’re angry with me for doing what I did, you have to feel better that you know the truth now. Harper is a liar. I would never lie to you.”

  “Maybe you wouldn’t lie, but you’d definitely cheat on me,” Caden scoffs.

  “Caden, I was drunk and I was taken advantage of. I told you that. Why can’t you just forgive me?” Madison pleads.

  “Madison, I’ve known you since we were kids and no one has ever taken advantage of you, unless you’ve allowed them to, so you can cut the crap. I don’t agree with what you’ve done in the least, but I’m not completely ungrateful. I don’t completely believe your motives behind what you’ve done, but I do appreciate the information you have given me. Does that mean I want to get back together with you? No. Maybe one day we can be friends, but that is as far as we’re going to go.

  “Caden, please,” Madison begs.

  “Look, I’m done with this conversation. You’ve said all that you need to say, right?”

  “I have,” Madison says with sadness in her voice.

  “Okay, you need to leave. I need to think about what you’ve told me a make a decision about what I want to do,” Caden says and motions towards the door of his condo.

  Madison reluctantly gets up from the couch. “I could stay with you. You really shouldn’t be alone at a time like this. We could just talk,” she suggests.

  “I don’t think so, Madison. Please just leave. I really don’t want to have to throw you out,” Caden says and opens the door to his condo.

  “Fine. I’ll go, but if you need anything, I’m here for you,” Madison says and steps through the doorway and into the hallway.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” he says and slams the door behind her.

  He sits down on his sofa and places his head in his hands. He can’t believe that Harper has been lying to him the entire time they’ve been together. He can’t believe that she has been deceiving him. The person that he thought he knew has completely vanished. Harper has become a complete stranger.

  He is baffled as to why Harper would do what she has done to him. He cannot wrap his brain around why she would make up lies about herself. Would he have not wanted to be with her because she is a waitress or lives in a dumpy apartment? He wouldn’t have cared. He knows better than anyone that money doesn’t make a person who they are. He has always believed that the content of a person’s character is what makes a person who they are. What does all the lies that Harper has told him say about her character?

  He wonders what is authentic about Harper and what is a lie. Was she lying when she told him how much she cared about him? Was she lying when she kissed him and held his hand? Was she lying when she stroked his face and told him that he was the best thing that has ever happened to her? He doesn’t know where the lies begin and where they end.

  The realization that the girl that he has fallen so hard for has fooled him and lied to him starts to really sink in. He starts to feel an agonizing pain deep in his soul. Anger starts to bubble up and it clasps the pain he feels by the hand.

  He is confused, angry, sad, disappointed and shocked. It blows his mind how well and how easily Harper
was able to lie to him. She had him completely fooled. He never caught wind of one single warning sign from her. He believed everything she said hook, line, and sinker.

  He is baffled that there was never any indication that he needed to question Harper’s story. Like Madison, he himself is usually a good reader of people, so he can’t understand why he didn’t feel the same vibes that Madison felt about Harper. Is it because he wanted to be with her so badly that he couldn’t let his mind believe that there was anything wrong with her story? Maybe the saying is true and that love really is blind.

  He has no clue what he is going to do now. In his mind there are really only two options – stay or go. Inevitably, he is going to have to speak to Harper, but does he even want to hear her side of the story? Is there anything that she can say that will make things better or make things right again between them again? Will he even be able to believe anything that comes out of her mouth now? Will he ever be able to completely trust her again? These are all questions that can only be answered with time and confrontation.

  He decides there is no point in putting things off. The conversation between him and Harper needs to be had and it needs to be had immediately. He needs to look Harper in the eye and hear why she’s lied and betrayed him. He needs to hear why she had so little faith in him and why she needed to pretend that she was something that she wasn’t. He needs to speak to her so he can try and make sense of where and why things went so horribly wrong between them. He needs her to answer the questions that have filled his mind.

  He locks up his condo. He will go and he will speak to Harper and then he will decide what he wants to do after that. He will try to listen to what she has to say with an open mind, but he knows it’s going to be hard to control his emotions. He dreads the impending conversation, but he pushes forward because he needs to get to the bottom of things for his own sanity.

  * * * * *

  “Thank you, Madison, for coming to see me and letting me know what’s been going on with Caden. I appreciate you thinking of me and keeping me in the loop. I’ve noticed a change in my son as of late, but when I’ve asked him what was going on with him, he would just brush me off. I was starting to get frustrated because I could never get anything out of him. Your information has eased that frustration and made things much clearer. I’m eternally grateful,” Bill Mason says to Madison, as she sits across from him in his office.

  “It’s my pleasure, really. As you know, I love Caden very much and I felt I needed to protect him, even though he has broken up with me. Caden’s new girlfriend doesn’t deserve a man like Caden in her life. Quite honestly, I don’t think that she is even worthy to breath the same air as a man as wonderful as your son. Not only is she a liar and a complete fraud, she is beneath Caden. His new girlfriend is a despicable human being and Caden deserves someone much better,” Madison says and shakes her head.

  “I wholeheartedly agree with you. You know that I have always thought that you were the right woman for Caden. I was delighted when you and Caden first became a couple. I imagined the two of you marrying and our two families joining together. You and Caden marrying and our families coming together would create a formidable force and that is what I imagined for the future. To know that he is running around with a peasant is very disturbing and it is something that I can absolutely not tolerate. I will not tolerate it and I will not allow it. From this moment forward, I am going to do everything in my power to put an end to it. Not only am I going to do everything in my power to put an end to the inappropriate relationship between my son and this Harper woman, I am going to do everything in my power to get Caden back into your arms where he belongs. Caden is not going to consort with someone that is obviously beneath him – at least not while I am alive. I will not stand for it,” Bill Mason says with an angry look on his face.

  “Thank you, Mr. Mason. I appreciate all the help I can get to get back together with Caden. I have made some horrible mistakes, but I have never ever stopped loving him. I have learned my lesson and I will never hurt Caden again, if I was able to have one more chance.”

  “I believe you, Madison, and that is why I am willing to help you in every way that I can. I will not stop my efforts until you are my daughter-in-law. I look forward to the day when I will see you walk down the aisle to my waiting son and become his wife and I believe that day will come. I will accept nothing less than that outcome. I will be bringing out the big guns and I will have my way, so you stop worrying, okay my dear?” Bill says and smiles at Madison.

  “Thank you so much, Mr. Mason. You have no idea how much hearing you say that means to me. Caden has always listened to you and to your wise advice. If anyone can talk some sense into him, it is you,” Madison says, feeling hopeful. Having Bill Mason as an ally is the best thing that could have happened for her to get Caden back into her life. Bill Mason is like her, he doesn’t stop until he gets what he wants. She knows that when Bill Mason says he’s going to do something or when he wants something, he goes at it full steam ahead and he doesn’t care who he runs over to get done what he wants to accomplish. She knows that when Bill Mason says that he is going to do everything in his power to get Caden back into her arms, he will. She can take him at his word because she knows that his word is good. With Bill Mason on her side, she knows she can really stop worrying.

  “Madison, you are going to be my daughter-in-law, call me Bill,” Bill Mason says and winks at her.

  “Thank you, Bill. I look forward to the day that you and I become family. I look forward to the day that I can call Caden my husband. It will be happiest day of my life,” Madison replies, feeling very assured of her future.

  “I do as well,” Bill Mason says and stands up behind his desk. “Let me handle things from this moment forward. I want you to go home and wait for Caden’s return because it will surely come,” he says and motions towards the closed door of his office.

  Madison stands and says, “I look forward to it. Thank you for meeting with me today.”

  “It has been a very informative and productive meeting indeed. You take care of yourself and I look forward to seeing you on my son’s arm again in the very near future,” Bill Mason says and opens the door to his office.

  “I do, too,” Madison says and exits Bill Mason’s office.

  As she stands in front of the elevators, a large smile forms across her face. The meeting with Caden’s father has gone even better than she had hoped for. Her intention was to simply rat Caden out to his father with the hopes that Bill would put an end to Caden’s relationship with Harper. She never expected that Bill Mason would help her get Caden back as well. She feels like she’s hit the jackpot. She has killed two birds with one stone. Today is turning out to be a wonderful day.

  * * * * *

  Harper tries to call Caden’s cell phone again and she gets no answer. He hasn’t returned any of her calls or any of her numerous messages. She is sure that his lack of response can only mean one thing – Madison has gotten to him before she’s had a chance.

  It is not the way she would have liked things to play out, but even though it stings that Caden now knows the truth and Madison beat her to the punch, she does feel some relief that things are now out in the open. She is relieved that she doesn’t have to lie anymore and she doesn’t have the burden of having to keep secrets from Caden.

  Caden refusing to speak to her is a sure sign to her that he is hurt by what she has done. She is sure that it is likely that she will never see him again and she doesn’t blame him for his reaction. She wouldn’t want to see her either. She’s knows that she’s treated him poorly and she deserves everything that she gets. Acceptance of the cost of what she’s done doesn’t make her feel any better. She feels completely devastated and the pain aches deep.

  She tries to call Caden’s phone again and still gets no answer. She’s pretty sure that he’s ended her call and hung up on her in the middle of her call's rings. She wishes that he would just speak to her and give her an opportunity t
o explain herself. She wishes that he would give her a chance to explain her side of the story and why she did what she did.

  She throws her phone across the room out of frustration. It breaks apart when it hits the wall and falls to the ground in pieces. When she gets up to put the pieces of her phone back together, she is startled by the sound of the ringing phone at the front door of the apartment. Someone is downstairs. She rushes to the ringing phone, in hopes that it’s Caden.

  When the security guard tells her Caden is downstairs, her heart skips a beat. She wasn’t expecting him, but she is glad that he has come to see her. She is hopeful that once she explains why she lied to him, he will see that it was never her intention to hurt him. She hopes that he will see her heart and come to realize that she really does love and care for him. She hopes that he will see that she is remorseful and truly sorry for the mistakes that she’s made.

  When Caden knocks on the door, she is so relieved to see him that she wraps her arms around him, hugs him, and says, “I’m so glad to see you.”

  Her heart breaks when he pushes her away and asks, “Can I come in?”

  “Of course,” she says, moving out of the way so he can enter the apartment. “Let’s sit down on the sofa,” she says and follows him to the sofa. When they sit down and their knees touch, he moves away from her. It hurts knowing that he doesn’t want her to touch him.

  “Is it true, Harper? Have you been lying to me this entire time?” he asks, avoiding eye contact with her.

  “Caden, I…,” she stammers, searching his face and trying to find the right words.

  “Is it true?” he asks angrily.

  “Yes,” she says and looks at the floor.