Love And Money (Love Series - Book 2)

by K. L. Prince

  “You know it’s about money and prestige, Liv,” Harper says, relaxing into Olivia’s sofa and closing her eyes.

  “I know, but I really thought that once Caden’s father realized that he was fighting a battle that he wasn’t going to win, he’d just give up, but I guess not. So, what are you and Caden going to do?”

  “Well, Caden wanted to leave, but I convinced him to stay. I told him that I can’t leave my mother and I told him that I wanted to wait until the wedding, since I have it half-planned already. I convinced him to wait and that we’d think about what we’re going to do after that.”

  “And he was okay with that I take it?” Olivia asks.

  “He wasn’t thrilled about the idea, but he accepted it. I agreed to allow him to look into someone to watch me and my mother for awhile to make sure that we’re safe, which I’m not totally thrilled about, but it was a reasonable compromise.”

  “Harp, this seems so scary. I told you I heard stories about Bill Mason, but I never really believed that they were actually true. You know how people like to start rumors, so I always took what I heard with a grain of salt.”

  “Don’t tell Caden that I told you this, but he said that he suspects that his father may be involved with more than one murder,” Harper says, watching her friend’s reaction.

  “Oh my gosh, Harper! Seriously? If that is true, maybe you and Caden should just leave then. Your safety is not worth sticking around, just so you can have a wedding,” Olivia says, sounding very concerned.

  “Caden doesn’t have any concrete proof saying that his father is in fact a murderer. He just said that some of his father’s business competitors have mysteriously gone missing over the years and that he suspects that his father may have something to do with it.”

  “Harper, you’re really starting to scare me now. Have you told your mother about all of this?”

  “Of course not. I don’t want to worry her for nothing. So far, nothing has even happened. Caden’s father has just made some threats out of anger as far as I can see.”

  “Harp, are you really willing to wait and find out if he’s going to keep his word? Waiting to find out might be too late. I would rather never see you again and know that you’re okay than never see you again because you’re dead,” Olivia says, starting to tear up.

  “Don’t worry, Liv. I believe that Caden and I are going to be okay. I really can’t believe that Bill Mason is capable of hurting his son to the degree that he would kill me. Like I was telling Caden, his father cares too much about his money. If he has me killed, what will that mean for his money and his companies? Caden is not going to want to run them and then the whole meaning of his whole existence comes crashing down,” Harper says, patting her friend on the hand in a comforting manner.

  “I hope you’re right, Harper, because if you’re wrong, it could lead to disastrous consequences. I couldn’t bear to lose my best friend,” Olivia says, wiping away a tear that his escaped down her cheek.

  “It’s what I keep telling myself to keep myself sane. That and believing what Caden says about keeping me completely safe,” Harper says, thinking about how safe she really does feel under Caden’s protection.

  “You promise me that you’re going to be careful, right?” Olivia asks with pleading eyes.

  “I promise. Like I told Caden, I’m going to make it down the aisle to become his wife, if it’s the last thing I do,” Harper says, reassuring her friend.

  “Don’t say that,” Olivia says, “I’m afraid it might be prophesying words.”

  “Let’s hope not, but at least I will die being married to the man I love,” Harper says, taking another huge drink from her glass of wine, while pondering the thought of what it would actually feel like to die and leave Caden behind.

  “Harper, I really wish that you wouldn’t talk like that. It scares me and I don’t like it. I don’t like this whole situation, to be honest,” Olivia says, taking a huge drink of her own glass of the wine.

  “I don’t like it either and I really hope that Caden and I are just overreacting to his father and the threats that he’s made. I’m trying to stay positive and not think about what could happen and you should, too. Don’t worry until there is something to worry about, okay?” Harper says to her friend, hoping that her friend will take her advice to heart.

  “I will try. I don’t want to think about what could happen because it really does scare me to death. Why don’t we switch subjects? Tell me what you have planned for the wedding so far. You know how much I love a good wedding,” Olivia says, giving her a half-hearted grin.

  “Good idea. You’re going to love what I’ve come up with so far,” Harper says, reaching for her purse and pulling out the wedding materials that she’s put together.

  It doesn’t take long before they are so engrossed with plans for the wedding that their conversation about Caden’s father is the farthest thing from their minds. The somber tone and mood of their conversation about Bill Mason’s threat to her and Caden’s relationship is quickly forgotten and quickly replaced by the two women’s giggles and excited anticipation for the upcoming wedding.

  * * * * *

  Caden and Harper sit at Caden’s kitchen table over breakfast. They both have the day off from work and they have decided to spend the day in Caden’s condominium, relaxing and spending quality time together. They both just want to lounge around and do absolutely nothing but spend time in each other’s company.

  They both feel stress-free and sit at the kitchen table with contented looks on their faces. They spent the night in Caden’s bed, making passionate love, and it’s highly likely that they will return there many times during the day to continue their tender caresses and fiery connection. Both of them don’t have a care in the world except being together as much as possible.

  Harper sits in front of her laptop computer, doing things related to the wedding, while Caden devours a bowl of hot oatmeal covered in milk and brown sugar. They don’t say too much to each other because nothing needs to be said.

  Harper looks across the table at Caden and is happy that her future days will be spent just like this. She can’t imagine waking up with another man. She admires his handsome face as he eats the bowl of oatmeal that he loves to eat for breakfast so much and she smiles. She loves doing these regular things with him. She is so happy.

  “Oh yeah, I wanted to tell you that I’ve found a company that I trust to watch over your mother. I have a meeting with them the day after tomorrow,” Caden says between bites of his oatmeal, breaking the silence that lies between them.

  “That’s good. I’m glad to hear it,” she says and smiles at him, secretly wishing that they didn’t have to take the security measures.

  “Me, too. I will really feel better when I know that there is someone outside watching the building,” Caden says, slurping the milk in his bowl.

  Their conversation is interrupted by Caden’s cell phone ringing. As she listens to his conversation, she becomes a little disappointed by what she hears, but she tries not to let it show on her face.

  When he hangs up his phone, he says, “Babe, there is some kind of emergency at the office. I know we planned to spend the day together, but I have to go in and I absolutely can’t get out of it. The problem is something only I can fix, unfortunately.” He searches her face for her reaction.

  She can tell that he feels bad, so she doesn’t protest. “Okay, Babe. I totally understand.”

  “I promise that I will be back as soon as I can. I think that it will probably take me two hours, max,” Caden says, getting up, walking over to her and kissing her on the cheek.

  “It’s fine. Don’t rush on my account. I’m not going anywhere. I will be here when you get back,” Harper says, looking up at him and smiling.

  “When I get back, I want you naked in that bed,” Caden says, running his hand over her breasts and down between her legs. He leans down and kisses her. She can feel herself getting wet.

  “If you don’t h
urry up, I might have to start without you,” she says, breathless when he breaks their kiss.

  “You better not or I might have to make you pay,” he says, teasingly warning her, kissing her on the forehead before disappearing into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

  “Don’t tempt me. I like and look forward to your punishments,” she calls after him, returning to what she’s doing on her computer to distract herself from the almost overwhelming sensations she feels happening between her legs.

  “Alright, I’m going,” Caden says, scooping up his cell phone and keys off the kitchen table and giving her a final kiss before leaving.

  “I love you,” she says to his back, as he makes his way to the front door of the condo.

  “I love you, too,” he says, turning back to look at her. He smiles at her, before disappearing behind the closed door.

  She listens to Caden’s key in the lock, wishing that he could have stayed, but knowing that she can’t expect him to spend every waking minute with her. She realizes that they both have responsibilities that need to be taken care of and they both have separate lives to lead, which makes her grateful for the time that they do get to spend together.

  She surfs the Internet looking at random sites, before getting up to clear her and Caden’s breakfast dishes. She decides not to put the dishes in the dishwasher, but wash them instead, just to kill some time.

  She has the sink filled up with soapy water and is about to plunge her hands into the soapy water, when there is a knock at the door. Alarm bells start to ring and she starts to feel nervous. Caden hadn’t told her that anyone was coming by. She quietly walks to the door and contemplates not answering it, when she hears a voice call to her through the door. It’s Bill Mason.

  “Harper, It’s Bill Mason, Caden’s father,” he says through the door.

  She looks through the peephole and grimaces. What is he doing here?

  “I know you’re in there. I just seen you look through the peephole,” Bill Mason says. “Can you open the door, please?”

  She sighs. She doesn’t want to be rude to Caden’s father and add to the divide that lies between them, but she can’t help but be afraid of the man that stands on the other side of the door. She decides her best option is to try and make him go away. “Mr. Mason, Caden isn’t here. He went to the office to take care of some sort of emergency. He has his cell phone with him, so you could try calling him or go to the office,” she says, biting her lip and listening for his response.

  “I’m actually here to talk to you. I know that there have been some problems between you, Caden and I, and I just wanted to take an opportunity to clear the air,” Bill Mason’s replies through the door.

  She analyzes the tone of Caden’s father’s voice. He doesn’t sound angry or menacing. Maybe he really does want to mend the fences between them. She knows Caden would probably be angry if he knew that she let his father in, but how much happier would he be to know that she and his father had made some sort of reconciliation. She decides that Caden would undoubtedly be thrilled. “Okay,” she finally says, unlocking the door and opening it.

  “May I come in?” Bill Mason asks when she opens the door.

  “Of course,” she says, motioning for him to come in. She watches Bill Mason cross the threshold of the doorway, trying to read his body language. She doesn’t get any vibes that he is there to do her any harm by the way that he is carrying himself. After he is inside with the door closed and they have exchanged some pleasantries, and he hasn’t tried to hurt her, she starts to relax.

  “Can we sit down? There are a few things that I would like to speak to you about,” Bill Mason asks.

  “Sure. We can have a seat on the sofa,” she says, motioning towards Caden’s sofa. “Can I get you something to drink?” she asks, feeling strange offering Caden’s father something to drink in the condo, as if it’s hers.

  “No thank you, my dear. I’m fine,” Bill Mason says, taking a seat on the sofa.

  She sits down reluctantly next to the man that she has been told to fear. “So, what do you want to speak to me about?” she asks, fidgeting.

  “Well, as you know, I am very against you and my son getting married,” Bill Mason says, clearing his throat.

  “I am and um…I was hoping...,” she says, stammering to find the right words to say to show Bill Mason how much she loves his son.

  Bill Mason puts his hands up and interrupts her, “Let’s just cut to the chase, Harper. I’m here to make you an offer.”

  “I’m sorry? An offer?” Harper asks, confused.

  “Yes, an offer. I am here to offer you a million dollars to call things off with my son and never be in contact with him again. I’ve been made aware that you do not have very much money, so a million dollars is a hefty amount of money, don’t you think? A million dollars is probably more money than you will ever see in your lifetime, so I’d advise you to carefully consider my offer. I think that it’s more than fair for what I’m asking you to do,” Bill Mason says and stares at her, waiting for her answer.

  She is shocked. This is not the way that she thought their conversation was going to go. Bill Mason said that he wanted to mend things between them, not proposition her to leave Caden’s life. Mending fences is the only reason why she opened the door to him.

  She starts to feel angry at Bill Mason for lying to her, but at the same time the million dollars he is offering her is very tempting. She considers how much losing Caden is worth to her and how much leaving the tiresome situation she finds herself in with his father is worth. Is losing Caden worth a million dollars?

  After some quick and careful thought, she decides that a million dollars isn’t even close to being worth the heartbreak she would feel if she walked away from Caden. She loves him too much.

  “Mr. Mason, I’m sorry, but I can’t accept your offer. I love Caden more than life itself and there is no amount of money that you could offer me that would be worth losing him. The fact that you would think that I would be shallow enough to take your money and leave your son is very insulting, actually, and I resent your proposition. I would really like it if you would leave now. I think that our conversation is over,” Harper says, standing up from the sofa.

  “I was afraid that you would say that. You leave me no choice,” Bill Mason says, standing up next to her.

  Before she can reply, Bill Mason grabs her, pulls out a needle, and jabs it into her arm.

  “No!” she exclaims as he plunges the liquid into her arm.

  She tries to struggle and get away from Caden’s father, but she quickly loses her balance, falling to the floor. She tries to speak, but she can’t get her mouth to form words, but no sound comes out.

  Her vision starts to blur as she loses consciousness. The last thing she remembers is Bill Mason standing over her, before everything goes black.

  Chapter 13

  Harper groans as she regains consciousness. Her vision is cloudy and she blinks to clear her vision. She wonders why she feels so groggy and then the memories of what happened flood her mind. Bill Mason. Caden’s father had been at the condo and he had injected her with something.

  She quickly sits up and finds Caden’s father seated in a chair and staring down at her with a menacing look on his face. She takes in her surroundings. Where is she? She tries to speak, but she feels like her mouth is full of a hundred cotton balls. She looks down and finds that she is lying on a mattress, covered by a blanket. She scans the room and finds a large man that she doesn’t recognize stands in the doorway of the room. She assumes that he is there to guard her.

  She doesn’t need anyone to tell her that she is being held captive. She has no idea where she is and she is being held by a man, who has turned out to be everything that she had feared. Her heart sinks as she realizes that her worst nightmares are coming true.

  She wishes that she had listened to Caden and taken more stock in what he had told her about his father. Why was it so hard for her to believe what Caden had been t
elling her? She had been naïve and just plain stupid. She truly believed that Bill Mason wouldn’t hurt Caden, but she was so wrong. The consequences that she had been fearing have come to roost and there is nothing that she can do about it, but await her fate, whatever it may be.

  As she stares at Bill Mason sitting in the chair, staring back at her, she wonders if he going to kill her like he did to his competitors. She wonders why he hasn’t done it already. She wonders why he just didn’t kill her in Caden’s condo and be done with the whole thing. It seems like an easier solution than holding her captive. The answers to her questions are unknown and it scares her to death. Maybe she had just taken the million dollars and cut her loses after all.

  No! I would never do that to Caden.

  “Welcome back,” Bill Mason says interrupting her thoughts.

  “Where am I?” she asks, scanning the room again to see if she recognizes anything familiar.

  “That is none of your concern,” Bill Mason says and smiles at her.

  The smile makes her stomach turn. There is nothing comforting or reassuring about it. The look on Bill Mason’s face and his whole demeanor screams diabolical.

  “What are you going to do to me?” she asks, scared to hear the answer.

  Bill Mason stands up and starts to walk around the room, bouncing a gun back and forth against his leg before replying. “I’m not sure what I am going to do with you yet. I could have just killed you back at my son’s condo, but I thought that you might become very useful to me in the future somehow. That is why I am going to keep you here for the time being before I decide whether or not you are of value to me.”

  “Mr. Mason, I have changed my mind. I will take you up on your offer. I will take the money and never get in contact with Caden again. I swear,” she says, which is a complete lie. If Bill Mason agrees and lets her go, she will run straight to Caden and tell him everything that has happened.