Cruel Money

by K. A. Linde

  It was probably because he was more experienced than anyone else I’d ever been with since. A lot of sex had the ability to make him a better lover. Except…it could also have the ability to make him utterly selfish, and he hadn’t been. And many men after him certainly had been. I didn’t want to think that it was anything else though. I still couldn’t admit to our chemistry. Even as I felt it bubbling up between us now.

  Penn directed us to a corner of the magnificently decorated ballroom to where Lark, Rowe, and Lewis stood.

  Lark moved forward first and pulled me into a hug. “Natalie, it’s so good to see you!”

  “You too.”

  “This is my boyfriend, Thomas,” Lark said by way of introduction.

  Thomas shook my hand and smiled as his eyes swept my dress.

  “Nice to meet you,” I said, quickly pulling my hand back.

  I hadn’t known that Lark had a boyfriend, and I was surprised she was into this guy. He was handsome, but I could read sleazeball all over him.

  “You too. How do you know the crew?” he asked.

  Penn swept in smoothly and said, “We’re old friends.”

  Because saying I was the help probably wasn’t right for this company, which sent a twinge of discomfort through my body. Tonight, I was someone else, which was fun. But also, it meant that who I really was…wasn’t good enough for the occasion. And that put me on edge.

  “That’s right,” Lewis spoke up. He stepped forward to hug me. “Good to see you again, gorgeous.”

  “You too,” I said. Though I didn’t know why I was going along with it. I wasn’t ashamed of my job.

  “How has the alone time at the beach been?”

  “Rejuvenating. I started a new book.”

  “So, you’re an author?” Thomas asked. “Have I read anything by you?”

  Lewis slung an arm around my shoulders. “We’re keeping her under tight wraps right now.”

  “Ah, so she’s with Warren then?”

  “Obviously.”

  I chewed on my bottom lip and said nothing. I remembered the horrible rejection letter that I had recently gotten from Warren. And now, I was standing around with the owner’s son.

  “What do you do?” I asked to get the heat off of me.

  “I’m a senior executive for St. Vincent’s Enterprises,” he said smoothly with a wide grin at Lark.

  “Wow.”

  The boyfriend working for her parents. Not exactly original. But it seemed like so much of this Upper East Side world was incestuous. Not that I had any room to judge. I’d only gotten into vacation home watching because I started with Amy’s parents’ place. At least I’d worked my way up on my own.

  Penn cleared his throat. I turned to face him, and he was staring very pointedly at Lewis’s arm still around my shoulders. I hadn’t even noticed really. I wasn’t sure if I was reading his look right because it couldn’t possibly be that he was…jealous. Lewis was his best friend. He wouldn’t do that to Penn. And we were just friends. Me and Penn and Lewis. Friends.

  Still, I shrugged Lewis’s arm off of my shoulders and glanced down at my empty champagne flute. “How did that happen?”

  Penn held his hand out. “Why don’t we dance?”

  “Uh,” I muttered.

  Déjà vu hit me like a two-by-four. I remembered the time we had ballroom danced in Paris. The feel of his body against mine. The almost kiss that had left so much to the imagination. Dancing with him, even thinking about dancing with him, was putting me in uncomfortable territory. It was making me think not-so-friend-zoned thoughts.

  We stood there for a second with his hand held out and mine half to him and half away. And then Katherine appeared, easily breaking the ice as she slid between us.

  “There you are, love,” she said to me, playfully linking our elbows. “I lost you in the crowd.”

  “I found her,” Penn said.

  “Ah, thank you for keeping her safe for me,” Katherine said with a toothy smile. He didn’t return it.

  “We were just about to dance.”

  “Sorry to disappoint, but she’s my date, not yours. And we have things to do, people to see.”

  Rowe snorted from where he had silently stood this whole time with his face buried in his phone. “Typical.”

  “Can’t we just have one good night?” Lark asked on a sigh. “The mayor is here, and I can’t have us fighting. Not when the First Lady is coming into the city next week.”

  “We’re not fighting,” Katherine said cheerfully. “And why ever would the First Lady come to the city? President Woodhouse has New York locked down. Shouldn’t they be spending more time in swing states for his reelection bid?”

  Lark grinned. “It’s like you’ve actually been listening to me.”

  “Don’t hold your breath,” Rowe muttered.

  “His challenger is from the Northeast, and he just wants to shore up his bets. Give a show of good faith.”

  “Plus, Elena Woodhouse loves my mother,” Penn said. “They went to Harvard Law together.”

  My head was spinning with all the important talk. I had never felt more like a nobody from nowhere.

  “You…know the First Lady?” I asked.

  Penn shrugged. “I suppose.”

  Katherine rolled her eyes. “Enough with this. Come on, Natalie. I have some other people I want to introduce to you.”

  “I…okay,” I barely managed to get out before Katherine dragged me away from the rest of the crew.

  “So, the first person I want you to meet is a model friend of mine, Tara. And then there’s this designer. You would so love her work. I also think Elizabeth is here. She designed the dress that you’re wearing, of course.”

  I half-listened to her ramble on about a world of people I would meet and probably forget their names in a heartbeat. And I had no idea why it was even happening. Did she think, somehow, I was going to become her? Because I could wear her clothes, but this could never be my life.

  Still, I followed in Katherine’s vivacious wake. She knew everyone. In a room full of people, she wasn’t just a magnet. She was a tornado. People didn’t just gravitate to her. They were sucked into her vortex. I had never seen anything like it. It was both incredible and terrifying.

  And exhausting.

  Really exhausting.

  Though she seemed totally energized by the experience. I had clearly spent way too much time alone the last year to feel this excited about so many strangers.

  “Oh my god, we just need to pop over and say hi to—”

  Before she could even finish the statement, I jumped in, “Go ahead. I’m going to wait here for a minute. I need a breather.”

  Katherine frowned. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. I’ll be over in a minute.”

  She shrugged. “All right. I’ll send champagne over. Yours is empty again.”

  I glanced down into my glass and frowned. Honestly, how had that happened? I had no idea how much I’d had to drink at this thing. My glass was constantly full. I never even had to think about it, and suddenly, there was more alcohol in my hand.

  “Hey there,” a strong voice said to me.

  My eyes lifted to find a rather attractive man standing before me. He was clean-cut and in a sharp tuxedo with a square jaw and perfectly groomed hair. His eyes danced with mirth, as if he were enjoying a private joke, and his smile said something else altogether. He reminded me of every sleazeball frat boy who had tried to have sex with me in college. He was pretty but dirty underneath the two-thousand-dollar suit. It was as if he had a sign painted on his forehead that read, Run away.

  “Uh, hi,” I said carefully.

  “Katherine sent me over here. She said you needed another drink.”

  “Oh, thanks.”

  I took the proffered drink in my hand, but I had no intention of imbibing any further. I was already tipsy, bordering on drunk. But something in my gut said not to trust this guy. He could have slipped something in the drink. I had no i
dea.

  “Katherine says that you’re one of the new Cunningham models.”

  “I…what?”

  “Your dress is obviously the work of Elizabeth Cunningham, right?”

  “Yes,” I said quickly. Katherine had mentioned that was the designer. “Yes, this is from Cunningham Couture.”

  “And you look so”—he took a step closer—“delectable in it.”

  “Thank you,” I said, edging a step backward.

  He brushed my silver hair off of my shoulder. “Did you just get in from Hollywood?”

  “Hollywood? Um…no.”

  “Huh,” he said, eyeing my hair. “The hair is different. Not exactly New York fashion, is it?”

  I shrugged. I really had no idea.

  “I don’t know if you know, but I have a special connection with a number of the Cunningham models.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “We could get out of here, and I could show you.”

  “Who-who are you exactly?” I stammered.

  I wanted out. Out, out, out. He gave me creep vibes. And I felt suddenly cornered.

  “Katherine didn’t tell you?”

  “Why would she?”

  He smirked and opened his mouth to reply, and then Penn was standing at the guy’s elbow, jerking him backward. He whipped around as if he were going to punch Penn in the face and then stopped.

  “What are you doing, Percy?” Penn growled.

  “What I’m doing is none of your business, Kensington.”

  Percy?

  Oh, for fuck’s sake.

  This was Katherine’s fiancé, Camden Percy. The owner of one of the largest chains of hotels in the world. No wonder everyone had seemed down about the pending nuptials.

  “If you didn’t notice, Natalie here seemed uncomfortable with your attention.” He placed himself between me and Camden. “So you should back off.”

  Camden smirked devilishly. “I think we were getting along just fine.”

  “I know how you get along with women. She is not going to be one of them.”

  “That almost sounds like a challenge.”

  “Yeah, it is,” Penn said calmly, his eyes seething.

  Camden said with an eye roll, “I know you’re all bark and no bite.”

  “Try me.”

  “Boys, boys, boys,” Katherine trilled as she drifted over to where we were all clustered together. “Play nice.”

  Neither of the guys said anything. They just stared at each other in mutual hatred.

  “I swear, you two are children.” Katherine stepped over to me. “So, what do you think of my new project, Camden?”

  Project? What did that mean exactly? I hadn’t thought I was a project. I’d thought I was a…friend.

  Camden slowly dragged his eyes from his staring death match with Penn to really look at me. “You said she was a Cunningham model.”

  Katherine waved a hand, and a wicked grin painted her face. “And you believed me.”

  “She’s incredibly convincing,” Camden said dryly. “In appearance at least. She doesn’t seem to have a personality.”

  “Just because I have no interest in the way you approached me doesn’t mean that I don’t have a personality.”

  Katherine giggled. “See, she’s perfect.”

  Camden narrowed his eyes. “Congratulations, Katherine,” he said in a way that did not at all sound congratulatory.

  Katherine frowned in disapproval as if she was waiting for the slap in the face to follow.

  “You managed to make her beautiful. Money can buy almost anything it seems. Except class.”

  I winced, but he had eyes only for Katherine.

  “But I guess class can buy you money if arranged properly.”

  “Percy,” Penn said warningly.

  Camden just smiled at him. “What? Can’t you just wait until the day that I own your little Katherine?”

  Katherine said nothing. Just stood there as stiff as a board.

  “I’ll be sure to rent her out to you,” Camden said and then strode away as if his work there was done.

  “Ren,” Penn said softly.

  “I’m fine,” she said sharply.

  “I’ll just leave you two…” I said, backing away. I’d gotten the gist of that conversation. And there was enough to unravel that I felt like I needed a moment alone.

  “No, Natalie,” Penn said.

  “You two look like you need a minute. I’ll, uh, be in the powder room.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Katherine offered.

  “No. No, that’s okay. I can find it on my own.”

  Then I hurried away from their watchful gazes. From the man I’d thought I was getting to know. And the friend I’d thought I was gaining. And their shared history, a deep well that Camden had pushed us all into.

  Natalie

  15

  I stared at my own unreadable expression in the bathroom mirror. Well, tonight was a failure.

  Penn and Katherine.

  I didn’t know how I hadn’t seen it before. Now that I knew, it was so obvious. They were close friends. They’d known each other their entire lives. It wasn’t unthinkable that they had been together or something…at some point.

  I didn’t know why I cared.

  Because I did care.

  Whenever I thought about it, I got this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Penn and I had just formed some kind of truce. We were living together, roommates, but that was it. I found him attractive. Very attractive. But I had no intention on acting on that. Or I hadn’t until this moment—when jealousy hit me green in the face.

  “Are you using this sink?” a short blonde woman asked me.

  I hadn’t even realized anyone else was in the restroom.

  “Oh, no. Sorry.” I stepped aside for her and tried to get myself back under control.

  She washed and dried her hands methodically before turning to face me. “You’re Natalie, right?”

  “Yes,” I said cautiously.

  “I’m Addison, but my friends call me Addie.”

  She held her hand out, and I automatically shook it.

  “Um…hi.”

  I got a good look at her. The honey-blonde hair, the very straight nose, and easy smile. She looked…familiar. But I couldn’t place her. I didn’t think I’d ever seen her before.

  “I’m Rowe’s twin sister.” Her smile brightened. “I’m older by two minutes.”

  “Oh, wow!” I gasped. That was the resemblance. Now that I knew, it was uncanny. “I didn’t know that Rowe was a twin.”

  “Yeah, we don’t exactly dress alike anymore.”

  “Funny. And you call him Rowe?”

  “Old habits. It’s only weird when I stop to think about it.” She shrugged. “We both hate our names, but he really got the short end of the stick. Archibald was never sticking, and Addison became Addie so easily.”

  “Makes sense,” I said with a smile.

  “I don’t like to be the one to do this, but you can’t trust them.”

  “What are you talking about? Trust…who?”

  “The crew.”

  “Oh. We’re just friends.”

  “They’re not your friends. They lie and manipulate. It’s like breathing to them. They can’t stop it, and they don’t care about who gets hurt in the crossfire.”

  “Where is this all coming from?”

  “Look, I feel strange even saying this, but I thought I should warn you. I was part of the crew for years. But I got out. And as someone who has been there, I am telling you that they are not what they seem.”

  “Then how do I know that you are what you seem?”

  She stuck her hand on her hip. “You don’t have to believe me. But you are being used. Whatever they’ve said or offered, however they make you feel, they are using you for their own purpose. And you would be an idiot to let them.”

  I took a step back at the blunt way Addie had phrased that. I didn’t want to believe what she’d said w
as true. I didn’t know Addie at all. This was coming completely out of left field about people I hardly knew.

  “I don’t know you, and you don’t know me or anything about my relationship with them.”

  “You’re right,” Addie said with a shrug. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “Thanks. I guess.”

  Addie pushed open the restroom door ahead of me, as if her work here was done. But then she stopped and glanced back at me. “Just…do your own digging. Do you even know who Katherine’s father is?” My blank expression must have said as much. “Ask around. Their closets are lined with skeletons.”

  She breezed out of the restroom in a swirl of yellow chiffon.

  Well, I hadn’t expected that. I felt strangely uneasy about Addie’s revelations. I didn’t know if she was telling the truth or if she had some ulterior motive. Nor did I know how much of it was true. If any of it was true.

  I’d wanted a breezy fall, stuck on a beach in the Hamptons to finish my book. No distractions. No boys. Nothing but me, my computer, and lots and lots of words.

  Suddenly, that seemed like such a distant illusion. And this felt like a dream I needed to wake up from.

  My night hadn’t been like Cinderella. I hadn’t kissed my prince at midnight. I wasn’t about to lose one of these shoes. I couldn’t even imagine the price tag on the red-bottomed heels. But I was still going to turn into a pumpkin when all of this fake grandeur fell away and left me as the help once more.

  I needed to leave.

  That much was certain. I was out of place here. This wasn’t me. It had never been me. Amy had forced me into a tight dress for that party in Paris six years ago. I was bohemian by nature. I liked my hair down in disarray from the sea salt or up in a messy bun on the top of my head. I liked flowy, oversized dresses in crazy prints with bell sleeves and lace. I wore wide-brimmed hats and no makeup. And in my world, there were no galas or diamond necklaces or sexy men in tuxedos, but there also wasn’t any backstabbing or arranged marriages or skeletons in the closet.

  So, it was time to go.

  As much as I hated to admit it, I needed to tell someone. Someone who wasn’t going to try to talk me out of it or argue with me. Someone like…