On Her Terms (The Arrangement Duet Book 2)

by Madison Quinn

  “Do you mind walking around with me until dinner is served?” Nicholas asks.

  “Not at all.”

  With my hand in his, we walk around the large room, stopping several times to talk to various people. As he introduces me to several people, I’m surprised at just how many people he knows that are here tonight, considering we’re quite far from PFS’s home base. Listening to a few of the conversations, I learn he knows some better than others based on the content of the conversations.

  “Would you like a drink?” Nicholas asks.

  “Please,” I don’t know why but suddenly I have a weird feeling like someone is watching me. I chalk it up to having so many security team members here, both our own and everyone else’s—hopefully the drink will chase away the feeling.

  “I wasn’t expecting you to know so many people here tonight,” I say taking a sip of the sweet red wine.

  “Not everyone here tonight is based in Boston. Some I’ve done business with while others, I’ve met through mutual business associates or at different functions.”

  Just then, a voice that I swore I would never hear again interrupts the momentary lapse in conversation.

  “Mackenzie?”

  Chapter 36

  Nicholas

  “Mackenzie?”

  Before the person finishes Kenzie’s name, her hand is gripping mine so tightly that I swear she is likely going to break my fingers. I glance at her, finding her incredibly pale, which is when I know something is seriously wrong. I’m not sure what to do because I don’t know what’s wrong, but I know I need to do something.

  “Kenzie? What is it, baby?”

  I take her chin in my fingers and tilt her head up so I can see her beautiful brown eyes. I watch her close them and take a deep breath, slowly letting it out before her eyes meet mine once again. This time though, I see something I’ve never seen with her before. Even though her eyes are on me, they might as well be closed. I can always tell what she’s thinking by her eyes; right now though, I have no idea what she’s thinking. She’s completely closed off—it’s as if the woman I know and love is no longer here. I realize in that moment, I’ve watched her do exactly what Alex tells me that I do before walking into a negotiation–Kenzie has put a mask on. Now I just need to figure out why the hell she is doing that…

  “Mackenzie?”

  Kenzie takes a deep breath before slowly turning around to face an older woman who is standing only a few feet from us.

  “Estelle.”

  I watch the two women just stare at each other for several minutes, as I try to figure out what the hell is going on. I’ve never seen Kenzie like this; her voice is cold and distant, she’s tense and no longer relaxed against me. I close the space between us, wrapping my arm firmly around her waist and lean into her so that her back is against my side.

  “Kenzie?”

  I need her to tell me what the hell is going on; a quick glance around confirms that Carter and Hunter are both watching whatever this is, ready to intervene if necessary. If she doesn’t say something or move in the next few seconds, I’m going to take her out of here, until I figure out who the hell this woman is and why she is so freaked out right now.

  “Excuse me, Estelle, I would like you to meet Nicholas Parker, my husband,” Kenzie introduces.

  “Your husband?” the look on the old woman’s face is priceless: she is completely shocked that Kenzie is married to me, which makes me again wonder who the fuck this woman is.

  “Nicholas, I would like you to meet Estelle Adams… my grandmother,” I swear in that moment I can hear the disgust in her voice when she finally reveals the identity of the woman standing in front of us. My posture immediately matches Kenzie’s in recognition of who this woman is; if I were a different man my hands would be around her neck. The woman’s hand is outstretched in an offering to me, but I don’t accept it, instead I turn my attention to Kenzie.

  “If you’ll excuse us, I see someone we need to speak with,” I quickly lead her away, as the older woman is left stunned, staring at us as we walk away from her. I’m heading toward the exit, determined to take Kenzie back to the hotel so she no longer has to see the woman who caused her so much pain.

  “No,” she stops dead in her tracks when she realizes we’re leaving.

  “Let’s go back to the hotel—”

  “No.”

  “No?”

  She doesn’t say anything more, but the mask that she put up earlier remains intact. I don’t know why she doesn’t want to leave, but I need to get her somewhere so I can talk to her privately about this. I search the room for somewhere that we can talk and finally settle on a small table in the corner of the room near the windows. It’s not exactly what I want, but for now it will have to do.

  “Kenzie, we can leave—”

  “No.”

  “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. We don’t need to stay for this; we can go back to the hotel right now—”

  “No.”

  “If you think I need to stay—”

  “It’s not that,” for just a brief moment, I see something in her eyes, but just like that it’s quickly gone.

  “What is it then? Why do you want to stay? We don’t have to—”

  “If I leave, she wins,” her voice is just barely above a whisper, but those few words say it all. Just like that, I get it.

  “If you’re sure that’s what you want, we’ll stay.”

  “I won’t let her win again. She can’t make me leave; she can’t make me do something I… I don’t want to do again…”

  “She was forcing you to marry that asshole?”

  “She… after he… after he hit me the first time, I wanted to leave him… but she made it clear that if I fucked that up, I wouldn’t be welcome back in her house. Not that I wanted to go back there to begin with, but I was still working at that point, so I only needed to stay with her until I could find a place of my own…”

  “What happened?”

  “I called her… after he left for work the next morning. I told her I… I had to call out sick from work because he hit me so hard the night before that my cheek was still bruised. I asked… I begged… for her to let me come back, even though I swore when I left I would never return. I figured it would only be a couple weeks at most. Do you know what she said?”

  “What?” I’m almost afraid to ask.

  “She told me that if he hit me, I must have done something to deserve it. She said I needed to learn my lesson: it was my job to keep him happy, that was my only job as his future wife. And he obviously needed to teach me how to do that. She then hung up on me; it was the last time I spoke with her. I left him a month later when… things escaladed.”

  “She made you stay with a man who beat you? What the fuck kind of person is she?”

  How the fuck does someone do something like that?

  “I let her win then; I’m not going to let her win now. I need to show her that I’m not that girl anymore… that she can’t control me like that. If we walk out of here right now, she’s going to know I left because of her. I can’t… she…”

  “Okay, baby, we’ll stay. But the moment it becomes too much, we’re leaving—even if that means I have to carry you out of here. I’m not going to let that woman hurt you again.”

  She doesn’t say anything but gives me a slight nod in what I hope is agreement. I’m not happy about keeping her here, but if this is something she feels the need to do, then I’m going to help her do it. I take out my phone and send a quick text to Carter requesting he order a complete background check from on Estelle Adams.

  “How about we get another drink?” I suggest.

  “Something a little stronger than wine perhaps,” Kenzie slowly turns from the windows that she has been staring out of since we sat down.

  I don’t show my surprise at her request, knowing that right now she probably needs all the liquid courage she can muster. We walk around the room, stopping to chat with a few people o
n our way. She manages to hide what is going on well: anyone who looks at her or stops to chat with us, has no idea the demons she is battling standing next to me. I want so badly to take her back to the hotel, to help her forget everything about tonight and to show her what a beautiful, strong woman she really is. But I know she needs to do this for herself, so at least for now, I hope that I’m at least helping just be in the same room as that woman.

  When we sit down to eat, I sigh in relief that Estelle isn’t seated at our table; in fact, she is completely across the room where she can’t be seen from our table. While Kenzie chats with the wife of a CEO who is sitting next to her, I quickly pull out my cell phone to check on things, just as that woman’s husband is doing.

  Preliminary background check will be completed by morning and a more in-depth one within forty-eight hours. –C

  I want to know everything there is to know about this woman; tell them to leave nothing out. –N

  If I may ask, who is this woman? –C

  Kenzie’s grandmother; she approached us earlier –N

  I know revealing her relationship to Kenzie means nothing to Carter; he knows her ex abused her but doesn’t know anything beyond that. I didn’t think an old woman would be a threat, especially considering she lived completely across the country from us.

  Are we considering her a threat? –C

  Possibly. –N

  Kenzie doesn’t relax during dinner, in fact, she keeps a close eye on everyone around her. She’s constantly looking over her shoulder like she expects to see that evil woman approaching her again. But, unless you knew her outside of tonight, you would have no idea that anything was going on. She is polite and friendly to everyone at our table, even laughing at jokes that are made. Me, on the other hand, can’t stop thinking about what that woman did to her. I may not know all the ways she hurt her, but I’ve seen the scars that she bears on her back from the time she lived with her. It’s taking everything in me not to hurt that woman; I’ve never wanted to hit a woman out of anger… until now.

  “Dance with me?” Kenzie asks quietly.

  “Of course,” I take her hand and lead her onto the dance floor where several other couples are dancing. She immediately rests her head on my shoulder when I pull her close to me. I wrap both my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me as we sway slowly to the music. Neither of us say a word throughout the entire song, but I’m comforted with the knowledge that she asked for this and can only hope the reason for that was because she needed me. I hope that whatever she needs from me right now I’m giving her. I feel like I should say something, but I have no idea what to say. The guard that she put up, seems to have momentarily gone down, which I’m incredibly thankful for.

  “Thank you,” she whispers as the song ends and places a kiss on my lips before pulling back from me.

  I have no idea what she is thanking me for—I haven’t done a damn thing but dance with her. I should have asked her if she was okay, if she needed anything or at least if she wanted to leave. Instead, the moment her body touched mine, the only thing I could think about was how incredible it felt to have her relaxed again, against me instead of standing stiffly next to me.

  When dinner is over, several speeches are made by individuals supporting the candidate before he finally speaks. These types of speeches are all the same: boring, full of promises and requests for money. After the speeches, we walk around again and talk with a few people we missed the first time around. Kenzie’s mask is back up as she constantly searches the room for that woman, but thankfully doesn’t find her. Even though she’s right next to me, I long for the woman who was dancing in my arms a short time ago.

  “Mr. Parker, how nice to see you again,” Donald Conover approaches me shortly after we left our table.

  “Donald, I wasn’t expecting to see you this evening. Please allow me to introduce my wife—”

  “Yes, I read that you were married, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Parker,” he shakes Kenzie’s offered her.

  “Thank you, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well. Please call me Kenzie.”

  “My wife is somewhere around here, I’ll have to introduce you,” he glances around the room quickly, but when he doesn’t see her he turns his attention back to me. “I’m assuming by your presence here tonight, you realize the impact that the tax reform bill could have?”

  “The implications are significant,” I confirm. “If he is successful in passing the bill, it will make things much more profitable for companies like yours who are looking to expand to Boston. With the right plan, you could finally get the shipping dock you wanted.”

  Two years ago we were close to signing with Donald’s company, which would have been the largest company outside of New York that signed with PFS. He owns a large import/export business and, at least two years ago, was looking to retire. Signing with his company would not only benefit him, but would put PFS on the map—proving that we could manage businesses of all sizes and locations. With the tax issue known, we decided against pursuing Donald’s company because the risk was too great.

  “If he succeeds and the tax law is abolished, I’d like to hear a new proposal from PFS, if you’re still interested.”

  “We could certainly reevaluate the state of the company at that time,” I try to play off the thrill of what it would mean. I learned very early on in the business industry to have a poker face, and thankfully, I have one of the strongest poker faces around.

  “Let’s hope our boy wins the election so we can move forward with this. I’d love nothing more than to retire and take my wife on the vacation she deserves,” he shakes my hand before walking away.

  “Kenzie… are you—”

  “I’m fine,” her answer is short and she makes it clear she doesn’t want to continue this discussion. “I need to use the restroom.”

  “I’ll walk with you—”

  “I can go by myself to the bathroom,” she sighs, though I continue to follow her out of the room, where Carter and Hunter quickly join us.

  “Gentleman, none of you are coming in the bathroom with me,” she gives us all a stern look before entering the ladies room… alone.

  “Any concerns?” I ask.

  “None, sir,” Carter confirms.

  “Good, let’s keep it that way. We should be ready to leave soon.”

  A few minutes later Kenzie is back at my side and we are walking back to our table; the dinner is pretty much over, saying goodbye to a few people is all that remains on our agenda.

  “Parker, there you are,” Donald catches up with us, just as we are a few feet from the exit.

  As we turn around, Kenzie’s hand grips mine tighter; I know who is with him without even looking up.

  “Allow me to introduce you to my wife—” I don’t give him the chance to finish the introduction.

  “We’ve already met.”

  “Oh, Estelle and I have only been married for… what is it, sweetie, six months now?”

  “Just about that,” she confirms.

  “Anyway Parker, I look forward to hearing from you once our boy is elected. I think you will be impressed with the growth the company has seen—”

  “Unfortunately, Donald, PFS is no longer interested in doing business with you,” I quickly interrupt, knowing that no matter what the price, I would never associate PFS with a woman who thinks it is acceptable to beat her grandchild the way she did to Kenzie.

  “What? What happened? I don’t understand…”

  “Unfortunately, PFS is not interested in associating itself with child abusers—”

  “Child abuser!?!?!” he hisses, looking around to ensure that no one is near us that can overhear our conversation. “I have NEVER laid a hand on a child!”

  “You may not have, but I don’t think your wife can say the same thing—”

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Estelle says firmly, straightening her back as she looks directly at me, obviously trying to intimidate me, which
of course doesn’t work. “You have no idea what she was like when she came to us. My late husband tried everything to get her to behave, but the stress of raising such a troubled child took a toll on his heart, God rest his soul—”

  “Yes, I was such a troubled child that I graduated valedictorian from high school with several scholarships that covered my full tuition for three years of college,” Kenzie spats.

  “You were troubled in other ways… just like your mother. I did what I needed to do to ensure you didn’t turn out like her. The woman you are today is because of how I raised you, otherwise you would have ended up dead just like she is.”

  “Estelle, what did you do?” Donald asks.

  “I did what needed to be done.”

  “Your wife,” Kenzie says the term with complete disgust. “Beat me, her own granddaughter, to the point where I have permanent reminders of each punishment. When she didn’t beat me, she threw objects at me. She got rid of me as fast as she could—insisting I marry a man who beat me nearly as much as she did.”

  “Estelle—”

  “All you needed to do was keep him happy. He would have given you anything; you never would have wanted for anything for the rest of your life. You just couldn’t keep him happy—”

  “No man should ever lay a hand on his woman,” I hiss. “Her job was not to keep him happy.”

  “Estelle, tell me it’s not true,” Donald begs her.

  “She can’t,” Kenzie says before she turns around so her back is exposed to him. Her scars are so light that they can’t be seen from a distance, but there’s only a few feet between us right now, allowing him to see everything he needs to confirm the type of woman his wife is.

  “You did that? You did that to your own granddaughter?” he asks, the shock evident in his voice as Kenzie turns around.

  “She was an unruly child just like her mother—”

  “That doesn’t give you the right to do that, Estelle!” he interrupts her, raising his voice louder than I’m sure he intended. “What did she ever do to you?”