Fred took a deep breath and sighed. Looking at me, he said, “You remind me a little of Mark’s mother.”
It was clear losing Mark’s mother was one of the biggest losses in Fred’s life. I’m sure she meant a lot to both Mark and Fred.
“You know, Mark, I still have your mother’s wedding ring. I bought it for her when we were first out of college. The diamond probably isn’t nearly as large as what was in the ring you bought for Shirin. But, if that doesn’t bother Shirin, I’m sure your mother would be smiling down from heaven knowing her son was happy and that such a lovely girl was wearing her wedding ring.”
“I would like that. Shirin, I would be honored if you would wear my mother’s ring,” Mark said.
I looked over at Mark. “I would be proud to. I just hope I can be half as good a wife as your mother was.” I could feel how much they both missed Mark’s mother.
We finished our dinner without any more major incidents. Boy, Mark wasn’t kidding about his stepmother being a piece of work. It’s no wonder he calls her his step-monster. After we had our dessert, we said our goodbyes and left the restaurant.
* * *
“Thank you!” Mark said, kissing me on the cheek as he opened the door for me to get into the car. “I don’t know what I would have done without you. Why did you take the blame for the car crash?”
“I don’t know. I could just see how disappointed your father was. He really does want to be proud of you, Mark. I guess it’s a good thing your dad isn’t mad at me.”
“No, he wasn’t mad. He’s very smitten with you, actually. He isn’t one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, but I can tell he likes you.”
“What kind of car did I supposedly crash, anyway?”
“It was a 1959 Porsche 356. Silver.”
“Do I even want to know what a car like that is worth?”
“Oh, it’s definitely a collectors’ car. Somewhere between 120 and 400.”
“Thousand dollars?” I sputtered.
“Um, yeah...”
I started to feel even worse about how we were deceiving Mark’s father. There was something about Fred that I liked. He was strong. Confident. And, even though he was able to manage hundreds of people who work for him in his business, it seemed like getting his son under control had been one of the biggest challenges of his life.
We needed to change the subject. I said, “I don’t think your stepmother likes me very much.”
Mark just laughed. “Um… she doesn’t like anyone very much. So, you’re in very good company. The one thing she loves most of all is my dad’s money. Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t mean a thing.”
Mark put his hand on my arm. “Do you want to come home with me for a night cap?”
“Mark Woodham. Even though I am your fiancee, and even though I saved your butt—twice today—I’m still not that kind of girl,” I said teasingly.
Oh, but if he only knew how much I wanted to be that kind of girl. The twilight sun showed his features in a way I had not seen before. Strong. Handsome. And yet, still so vulnerable. There was certainly more to Mark Woodham than meets the eye.
“Why don’t we go down to Stanford tomorrow morning and get your tuition paid. I think we’d better open a new bank account for you, too. Oh, and this time, no one else’s name should be on the account.”
Deep down, I knew this charade was wrong. But, right now, it seemed like the only option I had for going to Stanford. I hoped no one would get hurt by this game of ours.
Chapter 8
I rolled over to see the sun coming up outside my bedroom window. It was 6 am. My body still hasn’t adjusted to West Coast time. Since school was starting tomorrow, I knew I had better get used to the time difference fast.
I went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.
What have I gotten myself into? I thought.
I pulled out my laptop to Google Mark Woodham. There were thousands of hits. When I pressed the images button, I saw hundreds of photos. Mark in a tuxedo. Mark in a racing suit. Mark skydiving. Mark with a blonde. Mark with a brunette. Mark with a redhead. Just looking at photos of him, I was feeling things for him that I’d never felt for anyone else.
I could have spent hours reading about the infamous Mark Woodham. Some women loved him... others hated him... but it would seem, Mark Woodham always made an impression, one way or another. He even had his own pinned post in a forum dedicated to single billionaires.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I heard a knock on the door. I looked up at the clock. I couldn’t believe I had spent nearly 3 hours studying Mark Woodham on the Internet. I got up and answered the door.
“Mark! I wasn’t expecting you!” I said opening the door.
“Hi, sweetheart,” he said, kissing me on the cheek. “May I come in? These things are heavy!” He looked just like a kid who couldn’t wait to open his Christmas presents.
There Mark stood with his arms full of packages. I had no idea what he was doing.
“Of course, come in. Here, let me help you.” I said grabbing a few of the bags. “What are all these?” I quickly set them down and inconspicuously made my way over to the laptop where I had been studying him. I had closed the lid before he saw me, glad he hadn’t found out that I had been researching him on the Internet.
“Well, what girl can start school without new clothes? I asked Melody to help me pick some things out for you. We can return anything you don’t like.”
I couldn’t believe it. There must have been 12 packages. I started pulling clothes out of the bags. She did pick out some nice outfits. And, there were even shoes to match! I wasn’t sure what to say. This was so unexpected.
“Mark, I brought clothes with me. I don’t need new ones. You didn’t have to do this.”
“And, that’s exactly why I did. You have a big day tomorrow! Your first day at Stanford. I need to make sure my girl looks nice!”
I hadn’t really thought too much about what people wear at Stanford. What if the clothes I brought with me were all wrong? Everyone I’d met so far dresses much more casually than people do in New York.
“Do you know what students at Stanford wear?” I was secretly hoping that he would. It might be hard to fit in if my clothes were a lot different than everyone else’s.
“Of course I do! It’s pretty laid back. Blue jeans, t-shirts, simple blouses. Flip flops,” he smiled, pulling a pair out of one of the bags. “Just like these I bought for you.” They had rhinestones on the band.
“And, for the most important gift of all...” he said with a broad grin on his face. Handing me a white plastic bag with a grey Apple logo printed on it. “You must have one of these!”
I opened up the bag. I couldn’t believe it when I pulled out a new MacBook Air. I looked at him incredulously. “Mark, I already have a computer.”
“Yes, but not one of these! Feel how light it is. It will be perfect for you to take to class.”
It was nice, but the PC laptop I’d brought with me would have been just fine.
“You’re in Silicon Valley now! That thing must be at least three or four years old. Ancient by Silicon Valley standards. Woodham Industries is counting on you to complete your studies successfully. It’s very important you have the proper tools.”
I was stunned.
“But wait, there’s more,” Mark said with a broad grin. “I sound like an infomercial, don’t I? Look what else I have for you in this bag.”
I pulled out another box from the Apple store. This one had a new iPad in it.
“Mark, you really didn’t need to do all of this.”
“I know. But I wanted to.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Then why don’t you just say, ‘Thank you’?” he smiled broadly.
He walked toward me and put his arms around my waist. I could feel the heat building inside of me. I wanted to kiss him, and I think he wanted to kiss me, too. He placed his hand around the nape of my neck. Slowly, his
lips touched mine. His earthy scent was activating my hormones like I’d never felt before.
Luckily, my phone started to ring before things got out of control. Even though Mark was looking especially handsome today, I couldn’t let him distract me from my goals. I looked down at the phone on the counter and saw that it was my uncle calling. I didn’t want to deal with him right now. I just let it ring. I could see Mark look over at the phone.
“It’s my uncle... let it go to voicemail.”
Mark suddenly pulled away. “No, I have some things I want to say to that fucker…” he said, picking up my phone off the counter. I grabbed it out of his hands so he couldn’t answer it. Nervously, I pressed the answer call button.
“Hello.”
“Hello, Shirin,” my uncle said. His voice was cold as ice.
I could feel the anger inside of me building up in the back of my neck. My breath became shallow. I wasn’t ready to have this conversation, yet. But, I probably never would be ready to talk to him about this.
“What did you do with the money in my bank account!” I demanded.
“Well, Shirin, that was our bank account. And, since you didn’t pay any rent nor did you pay any of your way while you were staying with me, you can think of that money as full payment for the room and board I provided you.”
“You knew I was saving money so that I could go to Stanford. How could you do this to me?” I never would have expected my uncle to be that heartless.
“No, Shirin. You did this to yourself.”
Mark whispered in my ear, “Let me talk to him.”
“No,” I said.
“Shirin, did you just tell me ‘No’?” my uncle demanded.
“No, I was talking to someone else. What about the scholarship and financial aid? Did you play a role in that, too?”
“Just like I said. You’re a common whore. I imagine you’re in California by now. You’ve been there, what, a day? And you’ve already found some guy to shack up with? You don’t deserve to go to Stanford.”
I could feel the tears begin to well up in my eyes. I hoped Mark wouldn’t notice. He grabbed the phone out of my hand and put it on speaker. “Listen here, fuckhead, what do you think you’re doing stealing Shirin’s money?”
“I don’t know who you are, but I don’t believe this is a matter between you and me. This is a matter between me and my former niece. I say former because, since I have disowned her, I no longer consider that slut to be part of my family. She is dead to me.”
I could see the outrage in Mark’s eyes. He took a deep breath and said, “No thanks to you or to what you have done, Shirin will be going to Stanford. She will finish her studies. And, there will come a day when you least expect it, that this will come back to haunt you. Count. On. It.”
Mark hung up the phone and pulled me into his arms. I no longer tried to fight the tears. I allowed them to flow freely. Mark gently rubbed my shoulders as I cried in his arms.
“Everything is going to be okay, Shirin,” he promised.
I didn’t know if I was ever going to hear from my uncle again. Honestly, I didn’t care at that point. I don’t know why, but even through my tears, I believed what Mark said for some reason. Everything was going to be OK.
Chapter 9
The day I had been waiting for finally arrived. Today was the day I would start Stanford. I was feeling wide swings of emotions. One moment, I was excited. Seconds later, my stomach was in knots.
I had organized my backpack the night before. I got in the shower and got ready as quickly as possible. I headed out the door to start walking to school. It was only a few blocks. I pulled my phone out to see what time it was. I noticed there was a text from Mark that I hadn’t seen.
Good luck at school today! Have fun!
Didn’t he understand that going to college wasn’t about having fun? That’s just like Mark, always looking for ways to have a good time. School was probably nothing but one great big party to him.
I heard my phone beep, and I looked down to see a text from Emily.
How’s it going at Stanford? Meet any cute guys yet?
Even though Emily and Amanda were my best friends. I just didn’t think I could tell them about my arrangement with Mark. At least not via text. I wasn’t prepared to go into all of the details about what had happened so far since I had last talked to them. I texted back:
Not yet. But I’ll keep looking :)
Campus was crowded when I got there. I walked across the courtyard to my first class. CS 106A - Programming Methodology. I got there about 10 minutes before class started. I looked around and grabbed a seat. A few minutes later, another girl came in and sat next to me. “Hi, I’m Abbey,” she said.
“Hi, I’m Shirin,” I said. I was excited. I had a prospective friend already, and class hadn’t even started, yet. I was surprised there weren’t more women in the room. Looking around, I noticed it was just me and two other girls, including Abbey.
After class, Abbey asked where I was headed to next. As it turned out, we had the same second class, too.
“Do you want to grab some lunch after English?”
“I’d like that.” I was looking forward to getting to know someone in this city other than Mark.
We walked over to one of the restaurants on campus that served hamburgers . I ordered a cheeseburger and a salad. I’d created a spreadsheet to track my expenses so that I would know how much money I owed Mark once I’m done with school. I opened up my phone and added it to the log I was keeping. We both grabbed our trays and found a table.
As soon as we sat down, I heard my phone beep. I pulled it out of my bag and saw Mark had sent me another text.
Why didn’t you respond to my text last night? When I send you a message, I expect a response.
Seeing the concern on my face, Abbey asked what was wrong. I told her that it was nothing, I just had to reply to a text.
At school now. G2GICYAL8ER!, I texted back. I was pretty sure he would know that meant, ‘got to go, see you later.’ His text irritated me.
He sent me another message. I need to come over tonight.
Did he not realize that our agreement doesn’t include me being at his beck and call? I tried not to let Abbey see my frustration. We just met. I wasn’t sure if she would understand the nature of my arrangement with Mark.
“Call me later. TAFN” I shot back. TAFN—that’s all for now, and I meant it. I’m not going to allow him to interrupt me while I’m at school. That wasn’t part of our agreement.
I looked back at Abbey. “I’m sorry. Just a little challenge with this guy I’m involved with. You know how men can be...”
She smiled knowingly. “Yes, I completely understand.”
A guy I recognized from class this morning walked up to us. “Hi, I’m Kyle. We have the same engineering class. Can I join you?”
“Of course,” I said, moving my purse and backpack off of the chair next to me.
We chatted all through lunch. After we had finished, we went over to a cafe to grab a cup of coffee. When the time came, I headed off to my next class. I was really happy to have made some friends so soon.
* * *
Walking back to my apartment, I pulled out my phone to send Mark a text:
Are we having dinner tonight?
He replied back right away:
Can’t. Already have dinner plans. See you about 9.
This irritated me. I texted him back.
That’s too late. It’s been a long day. We’ll need to get together another day.
There was no response from him.
After I had eaten dinner, I pulled out one of my textbooks and began studying. I knew how easy it could be to fall behind. I wanted to make sure I stayed on top of things. Since I didn’t hear back from Mark, I assumed he wasn’t planning to come over. Still, thoughts of him having dinner with another woman kept distracting me. I did my best to focus on the matter at hand.
A little after 9:00, there was a knock on the
door. Since I hadn’t met many people yet, I assumed it was Mark, but I looked through the peephole to make sure. Which part of “another day” did he not understand? I thought about ignoring him, but I figured I might as well open the door since he probably had a key, anyway.
“Hi, Mark. It’s late,” I said.
“I know it is. May I please come in? We need to talk about a couple of things...”
He came in before I even had a chance to respond.
“How was your first day of school?”
He took a seat on the stool in front of the counter.
“It was great.” I thought about offering him something to drink, but I didn’t want him to stay very long. It’s not like I had invited him over, or anything.
“I see you’ve gotten settled in. That’s good. Fred and Brenda are setting up an engagement party at their house. I need to talk to you about that.”
“You could have just called me to tell me.”
“I know. But, I wanted to see you.”
If he really wanted to see me, he had a funny way of showing it. He goes out to dinner with someone else and then expects me to be waiting for him with bated breath?
“How was your dinner?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“It was fine. Rather boring, actually. Just a business meeting.”
I looked into his eyes trying to gauge whether he was telling me the truth. The tightness in my chest made it harder to breathe. I just knew he was out with someone else. I couldn’t figure out why I was having such strong feelings when I thought about him being out with another woman. It wasn’t like we were really engaged or actually even dating, for that matter.
Mark squirmed a little. Trying to change the subject, he said, “So tell me about your first day of school.”
“It was great. I met someone named Abbey who is cool. My classes are good.” I said, feeling distant. I briefly considered mentioning Zach, but thought better of it.
Mark stood up and walked closer to me.
“What’s wrong?” He put his hands on my shoulder, his fingers softly touching my hair.
Silicon Valley Sweetheart Page 5
