by Sienna Ciles
Marsha had the looks of a woman who had been very beautiful in her younger years but now that those looks had mostly faded, she was left with an angular, pinched kind of face that had seen too much plastic surgery. She looked at me, a tight-lipped smile on her face, and there was something suspicious in those blue eyes of hers, something that I instantly disliked and distrusted.
My father was looking jovial; he obviously expected everything to go smoothly here and didn't have any idea that his idea may be opposed.
None of them were expecting anyone else to come to this meeting, so surprise flashed across all their faces as Mandy entered the room. My father managed to recover his composure pretty quickly though, and he smiled at her.
“Miss Benson,” he said. “It's good to see you.”
He then turned to speak to me, a somewhat quizzical expression on his face. “Why is our marketing director attending this meeting?”
“She's helped me make a few key decisions recently,” I answered, “and seeing as we're discussing some pretty important stuff with regard to the company's future, I figured she might be able to give me some valuable input.”
Marsha simply glared with open hostility at Mandy. Tracy, however, stared at her with a mixture of anger and bewilderment. She was definitely threatened by Mandy but was doing her best to hide it.
“Everyone,” I said, “this is Mandy Benson, our new marketing manager. Mandy, this is Marsha Hendrikson of Hendrikson, Inc., and her daughter Tracy Hendrikson.”
“Hi,” said Mandy politely, wearing a smile of calm confidence. “It's great to meet you.”
“Yes,” hissed Marsha, still wearing that tight-lipped smile. “Welcome.”
Tracy, however, said nothing. She just rolled her eyes and looked away.
“Miss Benson, please have a seat,” said my father, smiling warmly.
I pulled out a chair for Mandy and she sat down, and then I took a seat next to her.
“Why don't we get started?” suggested my father.
All the while, Marsha was staring with an icy gaze at Mandy. “You are aware, Miss Benson,” she said coolly, “that we are discussing issues that do not solely concern our companies, are you not? Issues that have nothing to do with... outsiders.”
Mandy kept her cool, despite the blatant provocation. “I'm aware of that, yes. And I feel that even though these issues have nothing to do with personally, I might be able to provide Kain with some valuable advice.”
“Hmph,” scoffed Marsha with a barely-concealed snarl.
“Now, Marsha,” cautioned my father, trying to remain diplomatic, “she may be able to provide some insight.”
I could see, however, that despite what he was saying, he was skeptical about whether she could, and was pretty annoyed at her presence here. Mandy took it all in stride though and remained calm and collected.
“Thank you, Mr. Williams,” she said with a pleasant smile.
He simply nodded to acknowledge this. Then he turned and looked at me.
“So, you and I have spoken at length about this situation,” he said, “and I think that we can both agree that it would be most advantageous for you to consider what has been proposed between you and Tracy here. After all, things did go well on the date you two had the other night, didn't they?”
As he said this, a look of surprise crossed Mandy's face, while a flush of guilt heated my cheeks. I hadn't told her about the date... and now I was thinking that I really should have.
“Things went, uh, well...” I stammered.
“Things went amazingly,” interjected Tracy, her voice honey-sweet as she did her best to impress both me and my father. “We just talked all night and had such a wonderful time.”
Mandy shot me an angry glance but I looked away from her and looked at my father instead. “That's not exactly the case,” I said, speaking to him but directing my sentiments at everyone there.
“What?!” exclaimed Tracy, her pride at once wounded.
“You spent a lot of time talking about yourself,” I remarked dryly, shooting her an accusatory glance. “I hardly had the opportunity to get more than two or three words in the whole night.”
I was trying to bait her into an argument; if she snapped now, my father would see that she had a short temper and would perhaps soften his line on me having to marry her. I wasn't lying though; the date really had been like that. She had just talked and talked and talked. I had been bored to death.
I had to wonder, though, whether Marsha had prepared her for something like this. It seemed that she had, because I could tell that Tracy was doing her utmost to keep her temper under control. She suddenly laughed lightly, as if brushing off what I was saying.
“You're so funny, Kain,” she said. I could hear it was forced – but could anyone else?
“I don't recall being able to fit in any jokes that night,” I countered.
“Nonsense! You had me in stitches all night. I don't think I've ever met anyone who can make me laugh so much!”
She laughed again, and it sounded painfully forced. My father, however, didn't seem to be able to pick up on this, and he nodded approvingly.
“My boy always has had a fantastic sense of humor,” he remarked. “It seems like things went well! I like where this is heading.”
“And you two would look so good together,” said Marsha. “Why, with the combination of these genes, you'd have children who were just the best-looking kids in the country! They would be the perfect heirs to inherit the company. And by the company, I mean the mega company that will emerge after Hendrikson, Inc. merges with your company. Those children would grow up to be some of the most powerful people in the United States. And we'd be their grandparents,” she said, shooting a conspiratorial glance across at my father, who nodded and smiled.
“It would be a match made in heaven,” he said. “An alliance that would benefit everyone involved.”
My blood was starting to boil now. My future was being decided for me right here in this room, and it was if nothing I felt about it mattered at all.
“Go stand next to Tracy,” instructed my father. “I want to see in the flesh how good you two look together.”
“Dad,” I growled, shaking my head.
“Come on, Kain.” He would not entertain any rebelliousness here. “Go on, just humor me. I just want to see how you two look together.”
Tracy stood up eagerly, smiling flirtatiously at me and batting her eyelashes. I glanced at Mandy, who was looking upset, but she swallowed whatever emotions were bothering her and nodded subtly. I sighed, got up, and walked over to Tracy. As I stood next to her, she tried to slide her hand into mine but I pulled it away before she could.
“Well, now, look at that,” said my dad, nodding approvingly. “You two just look amazing. Like a real Hollywood couple.”
“We could have a real fairytale wedding,” said Tracy, gushing. She kept edging closer to me, and I could feel my temper rising.
“I'd be happy to arrange that,” said Marsha, a strange and almost cruel glint sparking in her eyes as she looked at me. “Yes, very happy to arrange that. It would be the wedding of the century, it really would.”
“Oh, we could hire out...” said Tracy excitedly but in my head her words were blurring into a muted roar, and I couldn't make out what she was saying. All I could hear was my own voice inside my head, screaming no. I didn't want this. I didn't want any of this. My life was going to be in my hands, my own hands, and nobody else's.
“No,” I said softly.
Tracy, however, didn't seem to hear me. She just kept on talking.
“And I think the right car to use for our wedding would be—” she was saying excitedly.
“No,” I said, more forcefully this time.
“And the chauffeur could wear—”
“NO!” I roared, clenching my fists.
Everyone stopped and stared at me.
“No what?” asked Marsha, looking annoyed.
“No to everything!
No to these plans, no to this wedding, and no to Tracy! I don't want to marry someone I'm not in love with, someone who I don't—”
“Love will come in time,” said my father calmly. “Affection will grow as you two get to know each other better. And I don't see any problem with the physical attraction aspect either. Tracy is a model and she's gorgeous, and you're a handsome young man.”
“I don't care!” I snapped. “She's not the person I want to marry! I don't even want to go on another date with her!”
“How can you say that?!” sobbed Tracy suddenly, bursting into tears. “You're so cold, so cruel!”
“I don't like you! You're spoiled, selfish and—”
Now her tears of pain turned to tears of rage.
“Oh, and you think you're so great?! Do you know how many guys would kill, and I mean kill, to be with someone like me?! I'm a model, a famous model! Every guy wants me! Every guy except you, it seems! What's wrong with you?! Are you blind, can you not see what's in front of you?! You'll never have the chance to be with someone as beautiful as me again, never! You're throwing away a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! What's wrong with you?! Are you even a man?! Do you have anything between your legs?! Or maybe, maybe it's not girls you like... Is that it?! Is that why you're being such a stupid jerk about this?!”
“No!” I roared. “It's because.... it's because...”
“Because what?!” sneered Martha.
“Because, because...”
“Because you're the one who's a spoiled brat!” she snapped. “A spoiled brat with no concept of the long-term future, with no idea how to appreciate the genius of this plan that your father and I have been working on, a fool who—”
“Because there's someone else!” I suddenly shouted.
That shut everyone up.
“What... what the heck do you mean there's someone else?” demanded my dad. “What are you talking about?!”
I looked across at Mandy, who was looking totally shocked, and shot her a glance that told her exactly what I was about to say. Her look of shock remained but now it became a totally different kind of shock. She now knew what I was going to say, and she was totally unprepared for it. Nonetheless, I had started on this course now and there was no way I was going to deviate from it. I had reached the point at which I no longer gave a damn. I was about to take control of my life once and for all, and there was nothing that my dad or Marsha could do to stop me.
“Well, what are you waiting for?!” demanded Marsha, her face purple with wrath. “Tell us!”
I turned and looked at Mandy and smiled – and to my surprise, she smiled back at me.
“Her,” I said simply.
My father almost fell off his chair. Marsha's beady little eyes almost popped out of their sockets. And Tracy, it seemed, reacted with just as much surprise; she stumbled back and almost tripped over her own feet.
“Her?!” she gasped, utterly incredulous. “But she's just a... she's a total... she's a nobody! She's nothing compared to me!”
“Classy, real classy,” hissed Marsha sardonically. “You might as well be getting it on with a secretary.”
I could see that these horrible comments were hurting Mandy, and that made me furious.
“If you two don't shut up with your comments, you'll regret it, and I mean seriously regret it,” I growled. “I don't care who you are; nobody, and I mean nobody, disrespects my woman.”
“When did this start?!” gasped my father, finally speaking after he had been shocked into silence. “How long has this been going on?! And why is this the first time I'm hearing about it?!”
“We've been together for a few weeks now,” I said.
I wasn't sure what else to say; obviously, it wouldn't be a great idea to talk about the one-night stand at this point. I looked across to Mandy, and she could see that I was struggling here. She gave me a subtle nod, and then started to speak.
“We felt a spark the first time we saw each other,” she said smoothly and calmly, taking all of this in her stride.
She, too, realized that we couldn't mention how it was that we first met. And she was actually telling the truth, because we had both felt a powerful spark when we had first met. The alcohol had amplified it but it hadn't created it. Even if I had been sober as a judge on the night we first met, I would still have fallen head over heels for her. I knew that now with utter certainty.
“And... and neither of you though to tell me about this until now?” demanded my father.
“I'm sorry, Mr. Williams,” said Mandy, now starting to look a little flustered. “It's just that, you know, I was just starting out at the company, and there has been so much pressure and stress, and neither of us has had any free time, and...”
I could see that she was struggling now, and I decided that I needed to step in and help her.
“It's okay, Mandy,” I said gently. “Let me tell him.”
“Tell me what?” he snapped. “What other secrets have you been hiding from me?”
“I told her not to say anything,” I said. “And it was my decision to keep this from you. I knew how you'd react, and right now, you're proving me right. I didn't want to subject the woman I care so deeply about to this kind of behavior, so I told her to keep it secret. I knew that you wouldn't be able to handle it – but now you've forced my hand, you've pushed me so far into the corner that you've left me with no choice but to do this. So here it is, everything is out in the open now! And nobody, nobody in this room, not you, Marsha, not you, Tracy, and certainly not you, Dad, can do a damn thing about it! I'm in charge of my life, I'm in charge of my destiny! And I'm the only one who gets to decide who I choose to spend my life with! And it's her – she's the one who I want to spend my life with!”
I stood up, and nobody said a thing. I then walked over to Mandy and took her hand.
“Come on,” I said, feeling a surge of pure electricity as my hand touched hers. “We're leaving.”
And with that, we both turned and left the room.
Chapter 17
Mandy
I was still in a state of shock when Kain stood up and told everyone that we were leaving. I really couldn't believe that this was happening—or that I'd agreed to it. I’d had a few ideas beforehand about how this thing was going to go but none of them had come close to the reality of this situation. Kain and I were now in a relationship. Just like that!
Well, to be honest, I had no idea if we actually were or if the whole thing had been a sham put on by him so that he could get out of having to marry this awful Paris Hilton-type bitch, Tracy. I had been expecting her to be a shallow, dumb little narcissist, and she was, but just how perfectly she fit into that stereotype had blown me away. And her mother... wow, there was another piece of work for sure. She had something about her that really, really disturbed me. I didn't want to go as far as saying an aura of evil... but that is kind of what it felt like. The woman seemed to have neither a conscience nor a soul, and I was happy to be getting away from her.
And I was also happy that Kain was getting out of this—at least for now. “For now” was definitely the key phrase here; I couldn't see someone like Marsha Hendrikson let him escape so easily. No, it looked like she had her claws embedded deeply into Kain's flesh, and she wasn't likely to retract them without a battle.
As I thought about this, though, a sense of determination and purpose injected fire into my blood. Kain was a good guy—he really was, and despite all my former assumptions about him and his character, I knew that now. He didn't deserve this—nobody did. Nobody should have to go through their life being controlled by others, having their freedom to choose their own path curtailed. And I knew that supporting Kain in his fight for freedom was absolutely the right thing to do, even if it meant standing up to people as powerful as his father and Marsha Hendrikson.
I just hadn't known that supporting him in this endeavor would mean being in a relationship with him!
As we walked out, hand in hand, an ice-cold voice
called out to us from behind.
“Stop! You two, you both stop right there!”
Marsha Hendrikson.
I hesitated, but Kain gently urged me on.
“Come on, Mandy,” he said. “Ignore her. Keep going. We're walking away from them, and we're not looking back.”
“You stop, you two, stop right there! Don't take another step! Don't you dare!” she shrieked.
“Kain,” I murmured, as the naked wrath evident in Marsha's shrill cries struck fear into my very core.
“Don't worry,” he said. “You're safe with me. I'll protect you. There's nothing she can do to you... nothing she can do to us.”
“If you don't stop now, you're finished,” hissed Marsha. “Finished!”
Kain stopped when she said this, and he turned around slowly. “Are you threatening me?”
Marsha was standing there, her hands balled into tight fists at her sides, her face stormy with pure rage.
“You idiot,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “You stupid, stupid idiot! Do you really think that you can just walk away from me, from these plans I've been putting together for years? Do you really think that you have any say in this matter? Cut this little slut loose right now, come back into the room, and finish making arrangements to marry my daughter, and I'll forgive you and forget about this little act of foolish rebellion. But I'm warning you, this is your last chance—your only chance.”
Kain hesitated for a moment before replying—a dizzying, terrifying moment of uncertainty. Was he going to capitulate to this woman's demands? Or was he going to stand up to her?
“What are you waiting for, boy?” she snarled. “Do your damn duty and get back in the room! And you, you little whore,” she growled, turning to stare icily at me, “you can just leave right now, and pray that our paths never cross again. Go on, get out of here. You don't belong here. You don't belong with people of our caliber.”
“No, she doesn't,” said Kain calmly.
I was shocked. Was he taking her side, was he agreeing with her, after all of this?
“What, what do you mean, Kain?” I finally managed to utter, forcing the words through my feelings of shock.