“Oh!” Hannah’s heart skipped as she grabbed the bags from her father.
Cody came through!
“Thanks.” Hannah quickly stashed the bags in her room and ran down to the foyer with her father trailing behind her. She spotted three more Neiman Marcus bags, half a dozen garment bags and a short, wide white bag with the words LA PERLA stamped on the side in bold silver letters. There was an envelope attached to the handle with her name on it.
“What is all of this for?” her father asked.
“School project,” she snapped, scooping up the bags and running back up to her bedroom.
Hannah locked the door and breathlessly looked at the sea of department store bags covering her floor. Where to start? She went to the LA PERLA bag first since she was most curious about the note. Maybe Cody was apologizing for running out on her. Maybe he really was sick. Oh god, maybe it was too hard for him to be around all the champagne. There was a bottle on ice in her fitting room. She’d been drinking it. Did she taste like champagne when she kissed him?
She fumbled with the envelope praying she hadn’t inadvertently sent him back to rehab.
‘To conquer the world.’ - C
Hannah flipped the card over and peered into the empty envelope, but that was it. There was nothing else. She unwrapped the white tissue paper inside and pulled out an extremely lacey, extremely see-through, sexy black bra. Hannah’s cheeks burned scarlet when she pulled out the matching panties—thongs of course. The bag was full of six more identical sets in white, pale blue, soft pink, nude, red and gray.
“Holy hell!” Hannah exclaimed when she caught the price tag on the skimpy panties. She scanned the rest of the lingerie and did a quick calculation. She gasped out loud. There was over $5000 in underwear sprawled out on her bed!
“This is insane,” she whispered.
She pawed through the rest of the bags, pulling out the lavish items and carefully laying them on her bed. Cody purchased every item from the fitting room! It was a small fortune. It would cover her entire tuition to Brown—not that she was paying to go there. She’d never be able to afford Brown if she hadn’t gotten a full scholarship. But that wasn’t the point. It was the principle. It made no sense to Hannah to spend that kind of money on clothes! No wonder it was impossible to reach Golden status at Stanton. If it required shopping habits like this there was no way Hannah would ever earn a way in on her own.
As dedicated as she was to her cause, Hannah was starting to feel uncomfortable with her and Cody’s arrangement. At this rate, she was going to be the one who owed him.
“Not going to happen,” she muttered grabbing her phone. She tapped out a quick text to Cody and hit send.
GOT THE BAGS. WAY TOO MUCH. I’M SENDING THEM BACK. – HANNAH
A bubble appeared on her screen. Cody was texting back.
RULE #2. LESSON #3. – CODY
“He can shove his ridiculous rules,” Hannah muttered hitting the call button.
Cody answered on the first ring. “Hello, doll face.”
“Cody, they’re going back. All that stuff cost way too much money. I’m not comfortable with it.”
“So you’re okay with blackmail, but you draw the line at expensive apparel?” he mocked.
“It’s absurd to spend that much money on clothes! And I can by my own underwear, thank you very much.”
“Oh give it a rest, Hannah. You go to Stanton for Christ sake. You obviously have the means, so stop pretending to be offended by wealth. I’m over the whole innocent bit. And everyone knows you can’t return lingerie, so deal with it.”
Hannah was speechless.
“Hell-o?” Cody taunted when she didn’t reply. “You still there?”
“Yeah,” was all she could manage.
“Good. Then I expect to see you dressed accordingly tomorrow morning and put your game face on so we can get this over as quickly as possible.”
Click.
Hannah sat in stunned silence after Cody hung up on her. She wasn’t used to being caught off guard. But what had she expected? No one knew she attended Stanton Prep for free. Her father could never afford the steep tuition, but he wanted the best for her and always led by example. She still remembered the day he’d told her that he’d enrolled her in Stanton. “If you want something, you make it happen,” he’d said.
When she attended her interview with the dean she’d found out the only way she’d been allowed to attend Stanton was because her father donated his company’s software for the entire campus so she could attend for free. She felt horrible, knowing that he was giving away his hard work for free. Plus, it made her feel like an intruder. Even as a sixth grader, she knew that if her pauper status got around at Stanton she’d never fit in. So she kept to herself, focused on academics and made sure no one ever learned her secret.
Hearing Cody say she had money should have eased her nerves. It was further proof that she’d successfully managed to survive Stanton without anyone knowing she couldn’t afford to be there. So why was it bothering her so much? It wasn’t so much Cody’s statement, but the way he’d said it. Implying that because she had money that she didn’t need to value it. She hated the venomous entitlement in his voice.
Hannah squared her shoulders and walked to her closet to make room for her new wardrobe. What’s done was done, she thought. If Cody was going to be pigheaded and arrogant she wasn’t going to let the clothes go to waste. She’d call it an investment in her future. And a reminder to not turn into a Golden in her quest to conquer them.
She folded Cody’s note and put it in her desk drawer, before hopping into bed.
“To conquer the world, indeed,” she grumbled switching off the light.
14
Cody felt bad after he hung up on Hannah. But just hearing her voice on the phone was enough to make him lose his resolve to continue their charade. After the fitting room incident he’d decided he was done. Graduating wasn’t worth the emotional turmoil he’d gone through today. He’d nearly had a panic attack on the car ride home. He was barely holding it together as it was. The last thing he needed was some girl messing with his head and sending him straight back to rehab. All that would do was make certain he didn’t graduate with his classmates.
But did he even care? The kids he’d known since grammar school, and considered his friends, dropped him like a bad habit the second being his friend became inconvenient to their social status. So screw them. He didn’t need them. He didn’t need anyone.
Maybe he could just get his GED. But he dismissed the thought instantly, knowing it would kill his father. He wasn’t around much, but he’d sacrificed a lot to make sure Cody had every opportunity—including his marriage. Cody wasn’t quite sure what happened between his parents. He was so young when they divorced. But it was clear that Cody was an unpleasant reminder of their failure. He couldn’t let them down by adding more failure. He’d already done enough damage. It was time for him to grow up.
Cody had been more than happy to go through the motions for the next few weeks so he could put his high school nightmare to rest once and for all and move on. That was until Hannah screwed everything up.
How hard could it be, Cody? Give the girl your key, dress her up, introduce her to the douche bags that will be at the party and you’re free. All you have to do is pretend to care about helping her for a few days.
“Pretend!” he scolded himself.
He didn’t think it would be hard. Sure she was hot, but so was every girl at his school. But none of them were, Elena. None of them knew him or gave a shit about him. No one could fix what she had broken.
Elena’s death had destroyed him and after rehab Cody vowed he would never let anyone in again. And it was working just fine until fucking Hannah Stark, with her big doe eyes and perky innocent breasts offered herself to him on a silver platter. He didn’t need this shit. Hadn’t he been through enough?
By the time he’d gotten out of Hannah’s car Cody had convinced himself that he d
idn’t care if she got her perfect high school experience or if he didn’t graduate. But then he checked his phone. Mistake. The socialsphere was a twitter with talk about Cody and Hannah.
Spotted at school.
Spotted at Starbucks.
Definitely sleeping together.
Did you hear he got her pregnant too?
How long before he kills her?
OMG she deserves to die. Have you seen how she dressed?
What a slut.
And it went on and on. Cody was livid by the time he put his phone down. He paced back and forth in his sterile, empty home.
“This is all my fault.”
Why the hell did he think he could help Hannah infiltrate the Goldens?
Sure he’d been one of them. But in the time he’d been away he’d quickly forgotten how ruthless they were. They would never accept her. And now that he’d practically drawn a target on her back by pretending to date her, he’d ensure that the last few weeks of high school would probably destroy her.
“Not this time.”
He’d be damned if he let those bastards destroy another innocent life. Cody blamed the Goldens and their stupid secret parties for tearing him and Elena apart. That’s where they’d been the night of their stupid fight. The night they’d gotten drunk and said all kinds of things they couldn’t take back. The night she’d died.
Cody picked up his phone and texted Bianca. Then he’d taken a long shower and plotted revenge. When he’d gotten out his phone was buzzing with texts.
One from Bianca.
One from Hannah.
Texts he could handle. But then she called. And her sincere voice sent shivers through him. He was right back in the fitting room. Hannah half naked, doe eyes staring up at him after their electrifying kiss, asking if she was good enough. Shit! He needed to get her out of his head. The last thing he needed was to go feeling something for a girl like Hannah. He needed to get off the phone.
He’d been harsh with her. But that was the only way this was going to work. Cody needed to stay disconnected.
15
The next morning Hannah skipped up the massive stone steps to Cody’s house wearing one of her new, and ridiculously expensive, workout outfits courtesy of Bianca’s fine taste and Cody’s deep wallet. Underneath it—her lacey LA PERLA lingerie clung to her skin like it was designed for her body alone. Hannah had to admit, maybe there was something to paying an obscene amount for clothing. Because she currently felt like she could conquer anything!
She rang the doorbell with confidence. When the butler answered, she smiled brightly. “Good morning.”
“Here for Master Cody?”
“Yes. I’ll show myself to his room.”
It seemed all Cody needed was a good night’s sleep because he was in a great mood when Hannah waltzed into his room. Fresh out of the shower, he was wearing nothing but a towel. Hannah’s eyes darted straight to his glistening abs, following the sculpted V-shape muscles that disappeared beneath the towel.
“Doll face!” he exclaimed when she walked in. “You look ravishing.”
“Well you’re in a good mood this morning.”
“Well it’s a beautiful day for extortion.” Cody’s said giving her a dazzling smile that carved dimples into his cheeks. “And besides, why wouldn’t I be in a fantastic mood with you in my life?”
Despite his sarcasm Cody’s gorgeous features made Hannah’s nerves flutter. “I don’t know, maybe because the last time I saw you, you couldn’t get away from me fast enough. And you were rude on the phone last night.”
“You can’t expect everyone to be as perfect as you, Hannah.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t worry about it. My head’s in the game. Now we better get going, doll face,” he added in an exaggeratedly snooting voice. “We don’t want to be late for tennis.” He smirked pulling the towel from his waist to tousle his hair.
Hannah got an eye full of Cody and tried to stifle her shock as she ran from his room.
“Meet you in the car,” he called after her not even trying to suppress his laughter.
Hannah sat in the car trying to regain her composure. What was Cody’s deal? He was like Jekyll and Hyde. She’d never encountered someone with so many mood swings. Maybe it was because of his drinking problem. Had he fallen off the wagon again? She hadn’t wanted to bring it up, but if it was going to get in the way of her success it needed to be addressed.
Cody slid into the passenger seat of Hannah’s car and frowned. “Pull up to the garage,” he ordered.
“Why?”
Cody arched his eyebrow and sighed in exacerbation.
“Fine,” Hannah grumbled.
She drove past the house to a two-story, six-bay garage. It was bigger than Hannah’s house! Cody hopped out and punched a code into the keypad and one of the doors soundlessly slid open. He disappeared inside and then popped out dangling a set of keys.
“You don’t have a license,” Hannah reminded him.
“Yes, but you do,” he smiled. “Park that rust bucket behind the garage. You’re driving my car.”
“W—”
“Because being seen in your car isn’t doing either of us any favors.”
Hannah begrudgingly parked her old Volvo behind the garage in the plentiful parking. By the time she lugged her backpack and tennis gear around front, Cody had pulled his car out.
Hannah nearly dropped her bags at the sight of Cody sitting in the passenger seat of his purring black Range Rover. The windows were down and he was chewing on the corner of his sunglasses as the early morning sunlight flickered across his chiseled features. He looked like he was modeling for a photo shoot.
Focus, Hannah!
Cody popped the hatch and Hannah threw her bags in the back of the SUV and an eerie thought crept into her mind. Had Elena ridden in this car? She knew it wasn’t the car she’d died in. The news had repeatedly flashed images of the totaled sports car. Perhaps if they’d been driving this car, Elena would still be alive. It was built like a tank.
She slipped into the driver’s seat and the soft leather upholstery seemed to wrap around her. Cody reached across and hit a button on her door. Hannah’s seat smoothly repositioned her so she could reach the pedals.
“Wow. The car knows how to adjust to its driver?” Hannah asked, impressed.
A darkness fell over Cody’s handsome features. “No. Those were Elena’s settings.”
“Oh.”
“Just hold down the program button and it’ll reset to remember you.”
She did as she was told, but Cody’s pleasant mood had evaporated, filling the car with awkward tension. Hannah hated that she’d hit a sore spot with Cody again. He’d seemed like he was actually willing to play along this morning until she’d pissed him off with her questions. Well, since he was already mad . . .
“About yesterday,” Hannah started. “I’m sorry about drinking in front of you. That was insensitive.”
“Why?”
“Because of your problem. I was drinking champagne before I kissed you and that was thoughtless. It won’t happen again.”
Hannah could feel Cody staring at her. And then he burst into hysterical laughter.
“Hannah, do you think your champagne kisses are some sort of kryptonite?”
“I don’t want to be the cause of a relapse.”
Cody snorted. “I don’t have a drinking problem.”
“Isn’t that what people who have drinking problems say?”
“I wasn’t at rehab for drinking!” Cody grumbled.
“Then for what?”
“Hannah, enough with the twenty questions!” Cody shouted. “You’re the one who needs my help. Let’s focus on your problems, not mine.”
Hannah pulled over and turned on Cody. “You’re right. I’m the one in charge of this relationship and I would appreciate if you would treat me with respect.”
“You’re twisted if you think this is a relation
ship, Hannah. You’re blackmailing me to go to a party.”
“You agreed to help me. Are you going back on your word?”
Cody stared at her, hard, as if he was trying to make up his mind. “No. But I’m renegotiating.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means this is now a partnership, not your dictatorship. It’s the only way this works and we both get what we want?”
“And what is it that you want, Cody?”
“Don’t worry. It won’t get in the way of your plans.”
“I’m not comfortable helping you accomplish something that you won’t tell me about.”
“Take it or leave it, Hannah.”
“I’m not bluffing. I’ll report your actual test scores.”
Cody shrugged.
“Fine!” Hannah put the car in gear and continued their drive to school in silence. She didn’t care what Cody’s motives were, as long as she got what she wanted.
What did he want?
Cody asked himself that question over and over during their silent drive to Stanton. He thought he wanted to stick it to the Goldens. To find a way to get back at them for how they’d treated him and Elena, and for what they were saying about Hannah behind her back. He’d been so angry last night. What gave them the right to treat people the way they did? He refused to stand by and watch the Goldens ruin another life. He wanted to protect Hannah. But the more time he spent with her the more confused he became. Maybe Hannah didn’t need protecting. She was fearless and stubborn. She wasn’t the least bit intimidated by him. In fact, she challenged him, and it was infuriating.
He actually enjoyed slamming tennis balls at her during their morning practice session. It was a great way to get his frustrations out. He even returned a few serves shocking the hell out of her.
“Not bad for a basketball player, huh?” he teased.
“Former,” she replied.
“Bad sportsmanship isn’t a good look on you.”
Hannah rolled her eyes and fired a shot at his head.
The Boyfriend Series Box Set (Books 1-6): YA Contemporary Romance Novels Page 6
