Friends With Benefits

by Jenna Bennett

  Had the bastard left her in some flea- and roach-infested hovel while he came here to get his money? Was he planning to go back to her, or did he just plan to hit the road, leaving her as alone and out of options as the first time he’d disappeared?

  “How the hell do I know?” Vogel asked. “Last time I saw her was last night.”

  “What did you do? Drop her off on a street corner on your way home?” And if he had, never mind the fact that hitting the guy would be wrong: Owen would knock him into next year.

  Vogel looked at him as if he were crazy. “Last time I saw her was when she handed me the check. I haven’t seen her since.”

  “She didn’t leave with you?”

  “What the fuck do I want with Kaylee?” Vogel asked. “All she had going for her was that she was halfway hot, and now she’s not even that anymore.”

  She was incredibly hot. But if the jackass couldn’t see it, Owen certainly wasn’t going to point it out.

  “Why did she give you the money, then?”

  Vogel hesitated, and while he did, the kaleidoscope in Owen’s head rattled. The pieces rearranged themselves and the picture changed. He caught his breath hard. “You goddamn bastard! You blackmailed her, didn’t you?”

  “Whoa,” Vogel said and scooted back on his chair. “Take it easy, man!”

  Take it easy? When this sorry excuse for a human being had hurt Kaylee?

  “What did you tell her? What the fuck did you say, you miserable piece of shit?”

  “Whoa,” Vogel said again. “I didn’t say nothing, man. Just that she looked like she’d made a real nice life for herself.”

  “That’s supposed to make me believe she would want to pay you twenty-five thousand dollars?”

  Vogel shrugged. “So maybe I suggested that she could divorce you and get some settlement money, and we could get married and have some start-up capital.”

  “Twenty-five thousand won’t get you very far.” It was hardly even a down payment on a house. And besides, that couldn’t be what it was for. Not if Vogel didn’t know where Kaylee was.

  Vogel snorted. “She turned me down flat. Said no way would she leave you for me. Can’t blame her, I guess. She’s got everything she ever wanted.”

  “How the hell do you know what Kaylee wants?” Owen snarled. “You spent a couple hours with her once, if that much. And I doubt you did much talking. How do you presume to think you know what Kaylee wants?”

  Vogel shrugged. “I told her I was real happy for her, and then we talked about the baby.”

  “The baby?” This SOB wanted him to believe he cared about Kaylee’s baby?

  “My baby,” Vogel said, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye.

  Owen flexed his hands. Much more of this and he really would punch the bastard. “It isn’t your baby, asshole. You gave up any rights to that baby when you knocked her up and never came back.”

  “I came back. Yesterday.”

  Too little, too late.

  “Not for that,” Owen said, fighting to keep his voice calm. “Not because you give a damn about her or her baby. What did you tell her? That you’d fight her for the baby? Did you threaten to take her baby away, you bastard?”

  “I don’t want no baby,” Vogel said, offended, as if Owen had suggested something obscene. “I just want the fucking money.”

  Fat chance. Owen pushed his chair back and stood, abruptly enough that Vogel flinched. Good. Outside the window, the security guard squinted and took a step closer. Owen waved him back. He leaned down and got right in Vogel’s face, his voice low and controlled.

  “Here’s what’s going to happen. You can forget the money. You never had a hope of getting that in the first place. What I’m giving you is a chance.”

  “To do what?” Vogel said.

  “To give up all rights to that baby, unless you want to go to jail.”

  Vogel smirked. “How are you going to put me in jail? Nothing wrong with the check. Kaylee’s your wife. She took the money out of your shared account. All right and tight.”

  True. He’d had her name put on the credit card she’d emptied with this whopping cash advance. However— “Outside in the car, I have proof that you got a job at Norris Industries with a fake name, fake references, and a fake résumé. I can call the police right now and have you arrested for impersonation and fraud.”

  “And I’ll be out in two months,” Vogel said, as if it had happened before and he knew what he was talking about.

  “The embezzlement might make a difference.”

  Something flickered in the bastard’s eyes, and the smirk slipped for a second. “What embezzlement?”

  “The four thousand five hundred and sixty four dollars plus cents you stole while you were working in accounting at Norris Industries.”

  Vogel’s eyes flickered, probably at the exact amount of money Owen quoted. Owen added, “As far as embezzling goes, it isn’t a lot of money. Nobody even noticed it was missing until I came along. But that, combined with the impersonation and the blackmail, is enough to put you away for a good long time.”

  Vogel stared at him for a few very long seconds. “What do you want?” he said eventually, with none of his usual toothy charm.

  Owen eased back. Almost there. “I want you to promise me that you’ll leave Kaylee alone. That you’ll never talk to her again and that you’ll give up all rights to her baby. That if you ever see either of us coming in your direction, you’ll turn and walk the other way.”

  Vogel considered him, head tilted. “Twenty-five big ones would go a long way toward ensuring that.”

  Yes, but then he could turn around and accuse Owen of paying for the baby, and baby sales were highly illegal. Much better to keep things simple. And verbal.

  “I’m giving you a chance to stay out of jail, asshole. If I wanted to, I could put you away for long enough that that baby will be in high school by the time you get out. If I were you, I’d quit while I was ahead.”

  Vogel thought about it. Outside the window, Owen saw that Mr. Callahan was on his way back toward them. He spoke faster. “You don’t want the baby anyway, Vogel. We both know it. And you don’t want Kaylee. All you care about is yourself. I’m giving you a chance to save your skin. Take it.”

  Vogel stared at him, nostrils flared. “Fine,” he said as the door opened.

  Owen turned to the branch manager with a smile. “Thank you so much for your help, Mr. Callahan. I’ll take that.”

  He reached out, and Callahan gave him the photocopy of Matthew Vogel’s driver’s license. “Is everything all right?” He looked from Owen to Vogel and back.

  “Of course.” Owen scooped up the form Vogel had been filling out, too, while he was at it. “Mr. Vogel and I have had a talk, and he has decided not to pursue the twenty-five thousand dollars. So we’ll be leaving now.”

  He glanced at Vogel, who got to his feet. He didn’t seem happy, but he also didn’t argue, and that was probably the best Owen could hope for.

  They walked out together, and in the parking lot Owen turned to the other man. “Just to make myself clear, if I find out that you’ve spoken to Kaylee, or bothered Kaylee, or sent Kaylee a letter, or come anywhere within shouting distance of Kaylee, I will use the information I have to put you away for as long as the law allows.”

  “And you’re just gonna take my word for it?” Vogel said.

  Owen smiled. Or more accurately, showed teeth. “I consider myself a gentleman. I’d be happy to give you the benefit of the doubt. So why don’t we just call it a gentleman’s agreement and leave it at that? Putting things like this in writing can lead to problems down the line, I’ve found. But if you insist, we can go see my attorney right now. And put the papers I have on file with him.”

  “No,” Vogel said, “that won’t be necessary.”

  “Glad to hear it. I’ll leave you to get on with your life. Preferably somewhere far away from here.”

  Meanwhile, Owen would get on with his own life. Namel
y tracking down Kaylee. Now that he knew she wasn’t with Vogel, but was out there somewhere on her own, he wanted her back. She might not love him, not the way he loved her, but she didn’t love anyone else either, and she still needed him. Or at least she needed a roof over her head and medical benefits. He’d find her. And when he did, he’d convince her to come back to him.

  Chapter Twenty

  KAYLEE SPENT THE first night on Alana’s couch, crying. She spent the second night in the same place. And on the third night, she was back there yet again, although by now the crying had stopped. She knew that sooner or later, Alana would get sick of her, but she had nowhere else to go. If she could find a job, she could get another place to live, but finding one was a lot easier said than done.

  Owen had been right: nobody wanted to hire a pregnant woman. There wasn’t a whole lot she was qualified to do, with no real education, and when she tried to apply for the few jobs she could do—waitressing, manning a cash register—the people hiring took one look at her stomach and told her the position was filled.

  “I don’t know what to do,” she told Alana helplessly the third morning. “I appreciate you letting me stay here, but I need to find a place of my own. And without a job I can’t afford one.”

  Alana nodded sympathetically as she sucked down a cup of coffee. Kaylee watched enviously while she sipped on her milk.

  “You could always go back to him,” Alana said.

  Kaylee shook her head. “No, I couldn’t. You didn’t hear what he said. Or see the way he looked at me. Like he never wanted to see me again.”

  “He thought you were leaving him for another man,” Alana said. “Can you blame him?”

  “It was more than that. He told me that his mother was right about me, that I was common as dirt. If that’s what he thinks of me, he’ll never take me back. And I don’t know if I’d want him to.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Alana said. “He’s been at Peckers for the past two nights looking for you. That doesn’t sound like he doesn’t care.”

  “You haven’t told him that you’ve seen me, have you?”

  “Of course not,” Alana said. “And I haven’t told Melody, either. He’d have it out of Melody in two minutes flat.”

  Yes, he would. Kaylee leaned her elbow on the counter and her chin on her hand. “I miss him. Not just the money—although it was great not to have to worry about every dollar I spent—and not just the sex—although that was even better—but belonging somewhere. He made me feel like we were a family.” And if she could just have that back, she’d gladly do without all the money.

  “Why didn’t you just tell him about Fake Gil?” Alana wanted to know. “When the bastard showed up and asked for money, why didn’t you just call Owen and tell him? Why did you try to handle it on your own?”

  Kaylee had asked herself that same question at least a thousand times during the past three days. She still didn’t have a good answer. “It was my problem. My mistake, my baby, my bad judgment. He’d done enough for me. I didn’t want to bother him with it.”

  “I think Owen took on your problems when he married you,” Alana said. “At least the mistake and the baby. The bad judgment I think is yours alone.”

  Unfortunately, Kaylee had to agree. “I should have told him. I just got scared. I had everything I wanted, and then that bastard showed up and threatened me. And all I could think about was getting rid of him so Owen wouldn’t find out. So I wouldn’t lose everything I’d found. I got scared.”

  “So what are you going to do about it?” Alana asked. “It’s not that I’m trying to get rid of you—”

  Although she probably wouldn’t mind if Kaylee didn’t make her permanent residence on the couch.

  “—but I’m pretty sure he’d take you back. If you explain what happened and convince him that what he thought was going on wasn’t going on after all...”

  “Maybe.” Although what if he didn’t? “That doesn’t fix the problem, though. You know the bastard will keep coming back and asking for more money, and I’ll keep having to give it to him, unless I want him to insist on being part of the baby’s life. He’s the father, there’s nothing I can do to deny him. If I try, he’ll probably insist on a paternity test, and insist on his paternal rights. And I don’t want him anywhere near my baby!”

  “Maybe Owen can help,” Alana said. “How long have you known he was Gilbert Norris’s grandson? Why didn’t you tell us?”

  “I didn’t find out until Matthew Vogel told me.” And she still wasn’t sure why Owen himself hadn’t said anything. That was another reason to be wary. “I met his grandfather and his mother at the Christmas party, and no one said a word about it. I knew his middle name was Norris, but it’s not like everyone whose middle name is Norris is related to Gilbert Norris, you know?”

  “No,” Alana admitted, “but didn’t you wonder?”

  “Not about that. I thought it was a huge coincidence—anyone would—but he changed the subject, and...”

  Yeah. He’d changed the subject, and quickly. Now she knew why.

  She thought for a second. “I think maybe he was afraid that if I knew he was a Norris, I’d want to be with him just because of the money. I mean, I slept with Matthew Vogel because he told me he was Gil Norris, Junior. If he’d been anybody else, I don’t think I would have taken him home with me that night. I didn’t really like him that much. But he said he was a Norris, so I figured he could get away with being a bit of a jerk, and he was a Norris, so I was flattered that he was interested in me, and I thought, if I was nice to him...”

  “Right,” Alana said. “Ouch. But somehow you managed to end up with a real Norris anyway. I guess you were supposed to have one.”

  “Obviously not. I don’t have him anymore.”

  “But you want him,” Alana said. “Don’t you? You’re in love with the guy. And not because he’s a Norris, but just because...”

  “Just because he’s Owen. Yes.”

  “You need to tell him,” Alana said. “You owe him that. He thinks you left him for someone else. He thinks you used him for his money, that you knew all along who he was, and that you left him because you like this other guy better. He deserves to know that you didn’t.”

  She supposed. It was going to be hard, though. Going back to him, explaining... What if he didn’t believe her? What if he told her he was glad she was gone? What if he didn’t love her the way she loved him? He liked the sex, sure—but so did every other guy on the planet, Fake Gil included.

  Would she go back to Owen if all he wanted her for, was sex? She’d have him, but could she live with a husband who only loved her body and didn’t love her? A husband who thought she was cheap and trashy?

  “That,” Alana said, “is ridiculous!”

  “Excuse me?” She hadn’t really said that out loud, had she?

  “What you just said.” Yes, apparently she had. “It’s ridiculous. The guy married you so you would have a place to live and health benefits, because you’d end up destitute and living on the street if he didn’t help you. He’s probably one of the richest men in town, and he married you. He didn’t expect anything in return, and it took at least a month before you had sex. And when you did, it was your idea, not his. He didn’t do it for the sex. I don’t doubt that he likes the sex, and I don’t doubt that he wanted the sex—wasn’t he interested in you before all this happened, too?—but he didn’t marry you for the sex. He married you because he cares. When you’re Gil Norris’s grandson, it’s probably not a problem finding women. He’s a good looking guy, and he’s smart, and he’s rich, and I’m sure women fall all over themselves for a chance to spend time with him. He didn’t have to marry you to get some.”

  No. Perfect Laurel Simmons would have been only too happy to take care of Owen’s needs.

  If Kaylee stayed away, maybe he’d go to Laurel for consolation.

  She pictured him lifting Laurel’s skirt in front of the mirror in the hallway, and shook her head. Perfect
Laurel would never allow it. Owen would have to have perfectly proper sex, the kind you had in bed, at night, with the lights out.

  Not that there was anything wrong with sex in bed, at night, with the lights out. They’d had plenty of sex in bed with the lights out.

  But that wasn’t all they’d had. And Owen deserved sex in the hallway in front of the mirror. And on the kitchen counter. And the sofa. And in the shower.

  He deserved Kaylee, dammit. Even if she wasn’t the kind of wife his mother wanted for him. The heir to the Norris millions wasn’t supposed to marry a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who had gotten herself in the family way by a liar and a cheat. A girl who had let him lift the skirt of her pretty party dress right there in the hallway before the Norris Christmas party. But he’d been happy with her. And if he’d take her back, she’d continue to make him happy.

  She looked at Alana. Alana smiled. “You ready to go get him?”

  Kaylee nodded.

  Alana reached out and clinked her coffee cup against Kaylee’s glass of milk. “Then listen up. I know exactly what you should do.”

  OWEN WAS GETTING more and more frustrated, not to mention worried. And to make things worse, he was starting to develop an addiction to Peckers buffalo wings. He’d certainly eaten enough of them lately. Lunch at Peckers every afternoon, and dinner there every night. If they’d been open for breakfast, he would have been having wings and beer at eight AM too.

  But every time he’d been there the answer had been the same. No one had seen Kaylee. Melody, the busty blonde, looked at him with big, blue, limpid eyes and shook her head, while the pretty brunette, Alana, watched him coolly and said that no, Kaylee hadn’t been back to Peckers. He believed Melody, although he wasn’t so sure about Alana. He’d even followed her home one night and spent a miserable thirty minutes sitting outside her not-too-upscale apartment building in his car, hoping for a glimpse of Kaylee, but without success. So maybe Alana had been telling the truth, after all.