They had always wanted something better for him and he knew that they were very proud. And now he shared that same pride in his daughter’s graduation. She had decided not to go into the legal field as he had, but he never cared what she wanted to do as long as it made her happy.
Richard could not have picked a better line of work for himself—he loved the law. There was just something about it that had spoken to him since he was a teenager and had taken a field trip to the courthouse. He knew right then, watching the litigators in action, that he was destined for it.
The morning went by with a blur as he attended meeting after meeting. They had several new associates on the floor this week who had just graduated and they needed a bit of handholding and steering as they got their feet wet. He was glad to help out and there were a few of them who might actually stick it out and make good lawyers, he thought. The rest would realize they had made a terrible mistake and fall back on their undergraduate degrees. Then they would hate themselves for wasting all that time and money on law school. But one had to be happy with what they did all day.
“Kane, you want to head to Toth’s and have a few beers for lunch?”
The head that had popped in the door belonged to Teddy Giles. He was one of the senior lawyers in the firm and one of Richard’s best friends. They had known each other since law school.
“I really shouldn’t. I got a lot of stuff to do. I have to cut out early for the party tonight,” Richard said, “You are going, right?”
“Yeah, of course. But you don’t have to be such a workaholic. It’s your firm; you have to live a bit!”
“I suppose you’re right. My brain is starting to melt looking at these damn briefs anyway.”
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Richard was with his friends Teddy and Charlie at Toth’s, scarfing down some hot wings and beer. They did this at least once a week. It was a great way to blow off steam and unwind. As much as Richard loved what he did, it was great having these two who were able to talk some sense into him from time to time and drag him away from work before his brain started melting out of his ears. Richard was enough of a workaholic to drive himself insane if someone was not watching out for him.
“So, Richard, how did it go with that little hottie from last night?” Teddy asked.
“She’s a sweet girl,” Richard said.
“Sweet? Yeah, she looked pretty sweet. Oh, I’d give my—“
“Hey! Let’s have a little bit of respect you pervert,” Richard said.
Teddy and Charlie gawked at each other.
“Wow, excuse me. When did you get so sensitive?” Teddy asked.
“I’m not sensitive, I just don’t look at women as anonymous numbers the way you guys do,” Richard said.
“Okay. Is she like the new girlfriend? You like this one?” Teddy asked.
“I do like her, but we just didn’t have a lot in common,” Richard said, “The sex was great, but that’s only part of the puzzle. The other pieces just didn’t fit.”
“Okay, we hear you,” Charlie said.
Richard glanced at them both sarcastically. He doubted either man had any idea what he was talking about. They were both complete horndogs and they reveled in it. They looked up to Richard because he seemed to be able to take any woman home that he wanted to, and that was true in most cases, but he never saw himself as being like either one of them. They didn’t have the respect for women that Richard did.
“It’s rough out there,” Teddy said as he chugged the rest of his beer. Richard was not sure if he was kidding or not; with Teddy, it all sounded the same.
“So, how about you guys? You having any luck in the romance department lately?” Richard asked.
“Yeah, I’ve met a few girls. But like you, I just haven’t found anyone really special yet,” Charlie said.
Richard knew that Charlie was being straight up. Out of his two friends, Charlie was probably the one that he felt could be most reformed. But Teddy was a lothario since birth and it would not be easy to change his ways.
“Well, keep hanging in there. Maybe you’ll meet some great ladies tonight at the party,” Richard said.
“I’ll show up, but I might not stay long,” Charlie replied.
Richard had noticed that Charlie was a bit depressed lately, but he had not really pressed him about it—it was possible that Charlie was just overworking himself. Out of all the people he knew, Charlie was the only person who worked as hard as he did. It was a sickness that they both shared.
“What’s wrong?” Teddy asked.
“Nothing, I just don’t feel like partying tonight.”
“You sure? You can talk to us,” Richard said.
“I’ll be fine, mom,” Charlie said sarcastically with a grin. Richard smiled back. This was the first genuine smile he had seen on Charlie’s face in a while.
“Good. But I want you to come to the party tonight. Trust me, just give it an hour or so and I know you’ll feel better. We gotta do something to get you out of this funk you’ve been in,” Richard said.
Charlie relented, “Okay, I’ll come.”
“Yes!” Teddy said, slapping his friend hard on the back. Richard thought for a moment that Charlie was going to choke on his beer.
Richard finished his drink and looked over at the waitress to bring him another. As he did so, an amazing beauty caught his eye. She was about twenty-five with long, blonde hair, and the most amazing smile he had ever seen. She was tall with curves for days and large, real breasts.
“Wow, that’s a looker,” Teddy said.
Richard glanced back at his friend snapping him out of his daze. He forgot sometimes just how observant Teddy really was. It was pretty damn annoying when he thought about it.
“Yeah, she is,” Charlie said. It was amazing how the beauty of a woman could snap a man out of whatever depression he might have found himself in. Charlie was now drooling over his wings as he was unable to take his eyes off the woman in the corner.
“You guys are like junior high schoolers. Stop gawking at her before she thinks we’re all creeps,” Richard said.
“Well, since you saw her first I guess you got first dibs,” Charlie said.
“Damn right, I’ve got first dibs,” Richard replied.
As he turned back to look at the woman again, he locked eyes with her and smiled as she did. She was now definitely giving him the signal to come over.
Richard wasted no time. He waved her over to the bar where the two arrived together.
“Hi there, I’m Richard,” he said, extending his hand.
“Mariah,” the woman replied. Her voice was sexy and sultry—feminine while being very confident and relaxed. Richard sensed a slight purr behind it. She sounded like a news reporter in a way.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Mariah. What are you drinking?” Richard asked.
“I’ll keep it simple, a margarita.”
Richard ordered two margaritas from the attractive bartender. He saw her giving them both a disgusted look. Richard was actually rather used to this. It seemed that there were a million bartenders in the city and many of them seemed to think that eventually he would come and talk to them. Sometimes he did and sometimes he didn’t.
“At the risk of sounding cheesy, do you come here often?” Richard asked. It was one of his favorite openers because it was so cliché. He loved to point out banalities and things that most people accepted and ignored; it was funny to him when things were brought out into the open this way.
“I’m actually new to the city,” Mariah said.
“Really? Whereabouts are you from?”
“Oh, all over really. I’m an army brat.”
“You didn’t have any desire to go into the service yourself?” Richard asked.
“No. After spending my childhood being tossed around from place to place, I decided I wanted to just go somewhere that I had always dreamed of and take up roots there for a bit.”
“So you decided to come to th
e Big Apple?”
“Hey, that is where all the action is,” Mariah said.
Richard gave her a sexy look, dragging his eyes from her long, slender legs in her tight jeans, to the sweet curves of her hips, her large round breasts that were aching to explode from her bra and then settling on her beautiful face, surrounded by flowing blonde hair.
She took it all in and smiled at him sweetly.
“You’re right, this is where all the action is,” Richard said with a smirk.
Mariah laughed and batted her eyes, flattered by the flirtation. Richard loved the game. The banter and the give and take of a new relationship, no matter how short or long it might become. The newness and the freshness of it all was rather intoxicating; it gave him a high like no other. It wasn’t even about the sex; that was more of the icing on the cake. He loved the game. That might have been the main reason he had found it so hard to settle down. So far, he had not found anyone for whom he wanted to quit playing and declare himself done.
“So, what do you do, Richard?” Mariah asked.
“I’m a lawyer,” Richard said. He hardly ever told people more than that unless they pressed; he hated to brag about himself. It was pretty lame for someone who felt that they had to brag about their own achievements, though he had no problem receiving accolades from others when they came.
“Well, that’s exciting. What type of law do you practice?” Mariah asked.
“I’m an entertainment lawyer predominantly, but occasionally other types of cases come my way. What do you do?” Richard asked, redirecting the conversation. He hated talking about what he did sometimes, mostly because he knew that if he opened up the floodgates and starting talking about how amazing his job was and how much he loved it then it would become weird.
“I’m a school teacher,” Mariah said.
“Oh, really? What grades?”
“Junior high.”
“Well, I tell you, if I’d had a junior high teacher like you then I never would have let myself pass eighth grade,” Richard said.
Mariah blushed again.
“Oh, I think we could have found some extra credit for you to make sure that you passed,” Mariah flirted.
“Oh, really? What if I misbehaved? Would you give me detention with you? I don’t mind being held after class.”
Mariah licked her lips and smiled sweetly at him.
Yeah. It was on.
Chapter 3
Why the hell did I come here tonight?
Angela kept asking herself that question. The party was a huge success with a lot of wonderful people there; she saw several celebrities she had not yet met and several she had met on many occasions. She should have been having the time of her life, but she was bored stiff. It was becoming more apparent to her how much she hated fame and wealth, not because of the nature of those things, but because of what people did with them.
The fame would have been cool if it didn’t so often change the people that it happened to. From what she saw, established and up-and-coming celebrities acted like different people entirely. It was especially fascinating watching people she had met when they had just started to become well-known and whose notoriety had grown considerably. It was like she had met the same person on two different occasions but they were completely different—it was kind of weird and sad.
Her lifelong dream had been to become a supermodel, but she was not sure she would be able to handle the fame part. She would likely start to become very vain and materialistic; qualities that were never really part of her character despite growing up a little rich girl. She enjoyed comfort and she had gotten used to many of the perks of being rich, but she could safely say that out of all the people she had grown up with, who were of the rich and wealthy elk, she would be the one to adjust to being normal if it were ever thrust upon her. Her friends would have complete meltdowns.
Angela had been civil and made conversation with several people she knew. They all asked about her new job and college and what her plans for the future were. She hated telling the same story to different people. She had already answered all of these questions last Christmas when she came home for break and she found herself repeating herself again at this party. But she smiled and played along because it was expected of her.
Her parents had broken the ice and reintroduced her to several people, which she appreciated, but truthfully she would have rather just hung back and been a wallflower. It was an underrated position to be in; you could observe all and never be a part of anything.
The most infuriating thing about situations like these was that her parents often asked the questions about Angela for other people. They asked her questions that they already knew the answers to, just so she could brag about her life and what type of future she might have. Couldn’t they even wait for their stuffy friends to ask their own damn questions? Every time it happened she wanted to pull her hair out, but somehow she made it through okay.
“What’s up?!”
The drunken voice of Naomi came rushing through the crowd. Angela glanced to her left to see Naomi and Natalie both completely sloshed and dancing their way through a crowd of minor celebrities who were really popular on some new reality dancing show that Angela had seen once and vowed never to watch again. She had to wonder how famous you could be for being lame.
“Hey, ladies. Are we enjoying ourselves?” Angela asked.
“Hell yes! I’ve been dancing all night and so many guys have offered to take me home tonight. As if! Like I’d just go home with some random weirdo,” Naomi said.
Angela tried to hold back her laughter. When Naomi was drunk it was one of the most entertaining things she’d ever seen. Natalie was decently buzzed as well, but even when drunk, Natalie stayed poised and charming so that most people would never be able to tell; Angela could tell simply because Natalie was in a much better mood than normal.
“Why not?” Angela asked. “It would be a great way to piss off your dad.”
“I’m actually on great terms with my dad tonight. He has been very attentive to me!”
Angela looked at Naomi sarcastically. She had hardly seen Richard Kane, but when she did see him she noticed that he was walking around with some hot blonde in a sexy dress. It was tough to say if it was serious or not and there was no getting a read from Naomi in her present condition. Angela felt the jealousy welling up inside of her. She hated to feel that way ever, but Richard was one of the few men who could stir up such desires and feelings in her.
“Whatever!” Natalie said, her voice much louder than necessary—another sign of how much she’d imbibed tonight. “I have barely seen him,” she said, echoing Angela’s own thoughts. She found herself wondering if Natalie had ever thought about bedding down with Richard Kane.
“It would appear that way, but for my father, this is a huge improvement and investment in his time!”
“Oh my God!” Natalie exclaimed. “Is that Darren Cross over there?”
The girls all looked over to the corner. Angela recognized a handsome man about their age dancing and talking with a few beautiful women that she didn’t recognize, but they looked too normal weight to be models.
“It is!” Naomi said. “Wow, he has changed.”
“I’ll say,” Angela added. Darren Cross had been the biggest nerd in their school. His father owned a huge chain of beauty salons and everyone thought that both Darren and his dad were complete dorks. Darren had always been short and scrawny with bad posture and horrid acne that scarred his whole face. But now it seemed he had grown almost eight inches, filled out, and his skin had completely cleared up. His hair was slicked back in just the right way and when he smiled his dimples were insane to look at.
“When was the last time we saw him?” Naomi asked.
“It would have to be about three years ago. That’s one hell of a late growth spurt,” Angela replied.
The three girls laughed.
“Well, maybe I need to congratulate him on his newfound hotness!” Naomi said. B
efore the other two could stop her, she was already dancing her way over there.
“That girl is crazy,” Natalie said. “What are we going to do with her?”
“Not a thing. The question is, what is she going to do with Darren?” Angela said.
Natalie grabbed another glass of champagne off the waiter’s tray as he walked past. Richard Kane sure knew how to throw one hell of a party.
Angela had never been to this house before, but she knew that it was Richard’s countryside estate that he used mostly on weekends when he wanted to get away from things. But he had a couple penthouses in the city as well. Angela had always thought it odd that a man would have so many homes in such a centralized location, but she figured that it was part of the charm that Richard possessed.
The house was not quite as big as her parents’ mansion in the city, but it was bigger than her parents’ vacation cottage in Hawaii that they spent a few weeks in periodically throughout the year when they wanted to get away. They did this much less frequently since Angela had moved out and gone to school. Somehow they always tried to make family time for her benefit and push work on the back burner. But now that was basically over.
Naomi instantly struck up a conversation with Darren and even from across the room Angela could see the look of surprise on his face when Naomi wrapped her arms around him. The two girls he had been talking to glanced at each other and walked away. Darren started to notice but Naomi sucked him right back in. She had the same sort of charm that her dad did. There was something charismatic in the way she did everything, especially when she decided that she wanted someone’s attention.
“Wow, that was fast,” Natalie said, once again reading her friend’s mind.
“Yeah. Do you think she’s okay?” Angela asked.
“Okay about what?”
“Well, I dunno. She’s been acting a bit strangely since she got back from school. I’m starting to wonder if she has any idea what she really wants to do.”
“How do you mean?”
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