by Unknown
Alice just stood there and stared at him without saying a word. So he continued.
“What I am proposing is this,” he said as he took a couple of steps closer to her. “You would marry me, and of course that would mean you would have to move in here. While you’re here, you will be well taken care of. I would provide you with an expense account, clothes, shoes whatever it is you want. During this time, you would accompany me, as a wife would, to public events, family gatherings and so on. In return, I will pay you five hundred thousand dollars now. Then in twelve months’ time, we would say it didn’t work out, get divorced, and I would pay you an additional five hundred thousand dollars, and we would go our separate ways.”
“You want to pay me one million dollars to marry you!” Alice said as she looked at Parker in complete horror. “Why would you think that I would agree to something like this?”
“Why wouldn’t you?” Parker replied. “Surely you can’t be happy working in that coffee shop for the rest of your life. If you take this money, you could go back to school, start over, and make something of yourself.”
“Make something of myself?” Alice repeated his words and laughed in disbelief.
“You said it yourself,” Parker continued. “You often have to work double shifts so that you can pay for your grandmother’s care. If you do this, you would never have to worry about money again.”
“And you think because you’re rich, you’re better than me,” Alice replied as a wave of anger bubbled up inside her. “That because I’m just a waitress, I should jump at the chance.”
“No,” Parker replied, and Alice could see from the look on his face, he was surprised by her reaction. “What I am offering you is a chance to live a life you have only dreamed of.”
“No,” Alice said, deciding she had heard enough. “What you are doing is treating me like I’m some kind of whore. You want to buy me to save your stupid ass and keep Mommy and Daddy happy. Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not for sale.”
Without saying another word, she walked towards the hallway she had just come in through and headed for the door.
“Alice wait!” He called after her, as she swung the front door opened and hurried to the elevator. She pressed the call button and prayed it would just open. “Can you please come back inside so we can talk about this like grown-ups?”
“I’d be surprised if you could even spell the word, grown-up, much less act like one,” Alice retorted without turning around.
“Well, can you at least let me have my driver come and take you home?” Parker sighed, and Alice knew he was trying his hardest not to get angry.
“I can find my own way home,” she replied just as the doors opened. When they did, she was surprised to see two men standing on the elevator, and they both looked equally surprised to see her standing there too.
They both stepped off as she stepped on.
“Alice,” Parker repeated, but she didn’t even look at him. Instead, she just pressed the button for the ground floor and the doors finally closed.
Once they did, she slumped back against the wall of the elevator and released a sudden sob from deep inside her. She had never felt more humiliated in her life. She thought he had taken her there because he liked her, not because he thought he could buy her.
She just wanted to get home, and she never wanted to see Parker O’Neill again, as long as she lived.
Chapter 5
Parker
Parker stared at the closed doors of the elevator for what felt like forever, feeling more than a little thrown by her reaction. All his life, every girl he had ever gone after, fell at his feet. This was the first time he had ever been shot down, and she shot him down spectacularly.
“What the hell was that?” Jensen asked as he and Harrison stood there in the hallway, looking from Parker to the elevator they just stepped off. “And what did you do to make her so mad?”
“That was my wife,” Parker sighed in frustration as he finally looked at his friends. “Or at least the girl I wanted to take the job.”
“Jesus, are you listening to yourself, Parker?” Jensen asked and laughed in disbelief at his friend’s attitude. “Marriage isn’t a job. It’s not something you sign up to for a year’s subscription, then walk away once your subscription has ended.”
“And what the hell do you know about marriage?” Parker snapped at his friend angrily. He was in no mood for Jensen’s bullshit. “Where the fuck is your wife. You don’t know shit about it, so back the hell off.”
“Parker, this isn’t his fault,” Harrison said trying to calm his friend down.
“Stay out of it, Harri,” Parker spat at him. “This is nothing to do with you. This is nothing to do with either of you. You don’t know how I feel, so shut the hell up.”
“So she said no,” Harrison replied trying to make his friend see sense. “You can find someone else. There is no point in getting upset about a waitress.”
“You think this is about the waitress!” Parker exclaimed and laughed in disbelief. “This has nothing to do with her.”
“Hasn’t it?” Harrison asked giving Parker a knowing look. “You looked like you were kicked in the guts when we stepped off that elevator. We’ve been best friends since forever, and we know when you’re upset.”
“I’M UPSET BECAUSE MY LIFE IS FALLING APART!” Parker shouted angrily. “JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED THAT PART, AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE HELL I AM GOING TO DO NOW.”
“So she shot you down,” Jensen said in a calm voice trying to defuse the situation. He knew fighting with his friend was going to achieve nothing, so he decided to reason with him. “You can find someone else. You still have time, and Harrison and I will help.”
“And what if I don’t find someone else?” Parker asked, suddenly feeling all the fight gone from inside him. “What do I do then?”
“Look, Parks, I know the company means everything to you,” Jensen sighed as he gave Parker a sympathetic look. “I know it’s all you have ever wanted. But if you have to start over, would it really be the end of the world. You are brilliant at what you do. You have money behind you. You could start from scratch, and you could show those assholes just what the hell they are missing.”
“And how will I look my dad in the eyes and tell him that he has to sell his company?” Parker shrugged knowing that was the one thing about all of this that bothered him the most. “He will never forgive me for this. Neither will my mom. This was how it was meant to be, and I blew it because I’m an idiot.”
“I’m sorry, Parker,” Jensen said as he patted his shoulder. “I wish there was something I could say to make it easier for you.”
“You know what,” Parker said as he turned and walked back towards his apartment door. “It’s been a long, shitty day. Think I’m just going to call it a night. I will call you both tomorrow.”
“We can stay if you want?” Harrison offered, but Parker quickly shook his head.
He stopped when he got to the door and turned back towards his friends.
“Thanks for tonight,” he smiled as the elevator doors opened once again.
He stood and watched as his two friends stepped inside the elevator. Then released a long, tired sigh when the doors finally closed, before he turned and walked back into his apartment.
He stood in the hallway for a few moments as he thought about what Alice had said to him. Her words had bothered him. He thought the offer he had made her was more than fair; it had never occurred to him that she would see it as him trying to buy her.
He pushed his hands through his hair and released a deep, frustrated breath. He needed to forget about her. He tried, and she said no, that was the end of it.
Now he needed to regroup and think how the hell he was going to fix this now.
He turned off the lights and headed to his bedroom. He had never felt so tired in his entire life.
Parker stood on the sidewalk and stared through the window. He had no idea why he was there. He
knew this was beyond insanity, but still, there he was.
He had barely slept a wink the night before. He didn’t know why, but he had found it impossible to get the waitress out of his head. He had no idea why he was so bothered with what she had said to him, but he was.
Maybe it was that she had been kind to him on a day when he felt his world was crumbling and he had tried to take advantage of that. Whatever the reason was, he couldn’t leave it the way they had ended it.
He watched her as she served customer after customer; never stopping to take a breath. He felt a pang of guilt for how he had belittled her job as he stood there watching her work so hard. He had probably never worked as hard as that,a day in his life.
Finally, there was a lull in the customers, and Alice came around from behind the counter to clear away some of the tables. Parker glanced over at the counter and saw the guy that was there the day before had disappeared into the backroom, leaving Alice alone.
This was his chance to talk to her.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed opened the door of the shop and headed inside. Alice instantly looked up with a welcoming smile, but the moment she saw it was him, her smile faded, and she froze.
“What are you doing here?” She asked as her face flushed with embarrassment.
“I came to say I’m sorry,” Parker said, struggling to find the right words. Apologising was not something he was good at because he didn’t do it very often, even though he was someone who screwed up very regularly.
“I know who you are now,” Alice said, surprising him. “I didn’t before, but I do now.”
Parker stared at her for a moment. He wasn’t sure how to take her comment. Was she threatening him? Did she want something to keep quiet?”
“I know you’re from a wealthy family,” Alice continued. “And I know you’ve probably come here because you’re afraid that I am going to sell some bullshit story about what you wanted from me last night to one of the newspapers. Well, if that’s why you’ve come, you shouldn’t have bothered. That’s not who I am. I have no interest ever to talk to you or about you again. So, you can rest assured that your dirty little secret is safe with me. I just want you to leave me alone.”
“That’s not why I came here!” Parker replied quickly.
“Isn’t it,” she asked.
“I’m sorry for how I came across yesterday,” Parker answered her, watching her closely. “And if you knew anything about me, you would know how hard it is for me to come here and say that.”
“Then you shouldn’t have bothered,” Alice snapped back as she turned her attention back to the table she had been clearing. “Because I am not interested in your apology, so save your breath and just go.”
“Alice, can you just listen to me for a moment,” he demanded impatiently as he followed her from table to table. He reached out and touched her arm, but she pulled away abruptly before she spun around to face him.
“Don’t you touch me,” she hissed at him angrily. “I know you’re used to getting your own way, and that the concept that someone like me would tell you no is very new to you, but don’t you ever touch me again.”
“I’m sorry,” Parker said once more.
“I don’t want you to be sorry,” Alice sighed and suddenly the fight she had moments earlier seemed to have vanished. “I just want you to go.”
Parker stared at her for a moment. He had no idea why he was so bothered by this girl, but he was. Maybe it was that he felt guilty, but for what he wasn’t really sure. Or maybe it was because in all of his life, she was the first girl that ever said no and it made him curious.
“I will go,” he said, realising there was nothing more he could say to make things right with her. He stared at her for a moment longer before he released a long breath and turned for the door.
He stopped when he reached it, and turned back to look at Alice, but she made no effort to meet his gaze.
“Goodbye, Alice,” Parker said before he opened the door and stepped into the street.
He started walking, not really knowing where he was heading. He just needed to clear his head and try to figure out how to sort the train wreck that was his life.
He needed a drink.
He checked his watch. It was almost five o’clock.
He quickly stopped a passing cab and jumped into the back seat before he told the driver to take him back towards Manhattan.
Thirty minutes later, he was slipping onto a stool in his favourite club.
“Mr. O’Neill,” the guy behind the bar, said as he smiled at Parker. “What can I get for you this evening?”
“Scotch, neat, Mike,” Parker replied as he pulled his phone from his pocket and set it down on the bar. “And make it a double.”
“Starting early on the heavy stuff,” Mike said as he poured Parker his drink.
“It’s been that sort of day,” Parker sighed as the barman set the drink down in front of him. Parker picked it up and lowered it back with one gulp. “Another, please.”
“Are you okay, Mr. O?” Mike asked as he poured Parker another drink.
“Not really,” Parker sighed as his phone screen lit up and it began to ring. He looked down at it and saw his mother’s name flash on the screen. Parker picked it up and stared at it for a moment before he hit the reject button. He wasn’t really in a talking mood, especially not to his parents.
He was angry with them for giving him this ultimatum, but he equally felt guilty because he knew that he wouldn’t be able to do what they wanted him to do.
Then Parker thought of the waitress again. She had been the first person that ever called him out on his bullshit like she did. She had made him feel like everything he believed about his life was pointless.
And on top of that, she had been right. He had thought he was better than her. He was Parker O’Neill, and she was just a waitress. For him, money was no object, for her it meant everything.
Now he knew that he was wrong, because, in the end, she had been the better person.
She could have gone to the tabloids. They would have paid her a fortune for a story like that. Enough money so she wouldn’t have to work a double shift for a long time, but she hadn’t. Instead, she had just gone back to work and had tried to forget he even existed.
He picked up is drink and lowered it back. He just wanted to forget about all his troubles, and if that meant getting blind drunk once again, then so be it.
“Hey,” a pretty red head said as she slipped onto the stool next to him. Parker looked at her and smiled to himself. This was more his type of woman; pretty and easy.
Why he ever even considered the waitress could have been the answer to his problems, he would never know?
He pushed her from his mind and smiled at the girl next to him.
“Hey yourself,” Parker purred as he inched closer to her. “And what’s your name?”
“Amber,” she replied giving him her best smile.
“I think I’ll call you Red,” he said as he motioned to the barman for another drink. “Mike, same again for me, and whatever the lady wants.”
“Champagne,” Amber said, smiling at the barman before she turned back to Parker. “So, you’re Parker O’Neill.”
“I am,” Parker replied as he took in every inch of the beauty sitting in front of him.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Amber said as she leaned into Parker, and whispered so only he could hear it. “I’d love to find out if it’s all true.”
“Would you now?” Parker grinned. “Then how about we take this party to my place?”
“I thought you would never ask,” she said as she picked up the drink the barman had just set down in front of her and lowered it back. Parker followed suit, then pulled a money clip from his pocket before he dropped enough cash on the counter to settle his tab and a generous tip.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said as he grabbed her hand and headed for the exit.
His world may be falling to pieces, but right
now, the only thing he wanted to do, was to get lost between Red’s legs, and forget about everything else. At least for one night.
Chapter 6
Alice
Alice arrived at the nursing home a little after midday on Sunday. She had packed a lunch as she had promised her grandmother but decided on her way to visit her that she was going to pick up some cronuts. Alice didn’t really like them, but she knew they were her grandmother’s favourites.
When she reached her grandmother’s room, she was surprised to see her fast asleep on her big armchair. As long as she could remember, her grandmother didn’t like to sleep during the day, as she would say sleeping in the daytime, disturbed her night’s sleep. Yet, here she was, sound asleep.
Alice walked into the room as quietly as she could, taking great care not to wake Sophia and sat down on the edge of her bed. She watched her sleep for a while, thinking just how peaceful she looked. She also couldn’t help but notice how old and frail she had become too.
She thought about all the times she had watched her sleep as a child. After her parents had died, Gram became the centre of Alice’s entire existence. She was everything to her, and Alice was always so afraid that she would lose her too, and she would be left all alone in the world.
After her parents had died, she used to have this reoccurring dream about the crash, and she would often wake up screaming. When she did, she would climb into bed with her grandmother and curl up against her. Sometimes she would dream her grandmother died in the crash too, when she had that dream, she would sneak into her grandmother’s room, sit on the chair in the corner and watch her sleep. Her grandmother would usually find her fast asleep on the chair the next morning.
“Alice,” Sophia said when she woke suddenly and saw her granddaughter sitting there. “How long have you been here?”
“Not long,” Alice smiled as she stood up and kissed her grandmother on the forehead. “A few minutes.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?” Sophia asked as she looked up at her granddaughter and gave her a strange look.