by Sorell Oates
‘A time in my life I’d prefer to forget,’ muttered Oscar, his voice barely audible with his face buried in his hands.
‘It hasn’t served you badly. Think of how you used your honed designer eye to engage women into conversation, tricking them into thinking you were a stereotypical gay designer only to reveal your heterosexuality after luring them to your bachelor pad,’ nudged Rupert.
‘He’s joking of course, Katy,’ said Oscar, glowering at his loud-mouthed friend.
‘The revelation I remember is that of the four of us,’ began Imogen.
Rupert inclined his head to Robert, reminding his sister their cousin was present. The last thing he needed hungover were those two rattlesnakes attacking one another.
‘The classic revelation was that of the four of us participating in the game it was Katy’s first visit to the Hamptons. Three Brits and a born and bred New Yorker, it was the American that hadn’t ventured to the Hamptons,’ cooed Imogen, astounded someone geographically so close had never traveled there.
‘That does sound unreal now. In the cold, hard light of day. Sober. Is that true, have you really never been to the Hamptons?’ inquired Rupert curiously.
‘No. That remains a truth!’
Pounding heart, suddenly Katy she didn’t want Oscar’s memory jogged on any other ‘truths’ she may have revealed.
‘I do remember that,’ said Oscar trying to piece together the blurry remnants of last night. ‘I asked why you’d never been. You said your parents took you to Europe a lot. I particularly remember France and Italy mentioned. Italy we should talk about on the journey home. I spent three months traveling round there.’
‘Sure. Well, I hate to get going, but we need to make a move if we’re to get home, and catch up on sleep before work tomorrow.’
Katy was hastily wrapping up their goodbye. There may have been other revelations to cast doubt over her already crumbling story.
‘Of course, of course,’ said Rupert.
Imogen hugged them both tightly. Oscar knew her words were genuine when she said the visit had been a fantastic way to start the day.
‘Katy?’
Robert calling for her as if he were Lord of the Manor shouting for his housekeeper, stopped everyone in their tracks.
‘Can you bring me over a bagel and Bloody Mary.’
‘Bloody Mary, indeed.’ scowled Imogen. ‘Bloody rude!’
‘You go. I’ll sort it,’ said Rupert placating.
‘Nope. It has to be Katy. I was there for her last night when she was in need of rescue. It’s her turn to be there for me now, I need rescuing.’
Huffing, puffing and raring to charge like a bull, Katy tugged Imogen’s sleeve to stop her erupting.
‘Let me do it and save the bother,’ said Katy.
Catching Oscar’s eyes, she shrugged, unsure of why Robert wanted a private chat. Hurriedly she concocted the drink, placing it next to his sleeping bag. Wriggling out and sitting up, he patted the deck next to him.
‘Sit with me a second.’
‘Robert, I don’t mean to be rude, but I have to go.’
‘Katy. I know you. I see you. You were right last night. You weren’t being naïve. You knew how to pass the screening process to secure your membership at Exclusive Love.com. It’s why you ensured the conversation steered cleared from women bucking the system to focus on the men. I know you’re a fraud. We all do. Oscar’s too smitten to confront it but he knows the truth.
‘Honestly Robert, I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘Really? The girl that can’t afford to purchase this year’s collection so roots round thrift shops under the guise of ‘vintage’. The designer dress but those well worn soles had been on way too many dance-floors for your shoes to be new. Your first dirty weekend with your new man, you’d want to make an impression. A woman of your financial means wouldn’t splash out on a designer dress but settle for old shoes.
‘Your wardrobe would be top-grade. Twenty-three years in New York and you’ve never holidayed at the Hamptons. Not even once? All those summer vacations to Italy and the only city you could name was Rome, the capital. I didn’t realize Rome would maintain such appeal year after year. Given your love of labels it’s weird you never asked to visit Milan. I’d have thought your parents would have let you explore the sinking town of Venice.
‘Admire the architecture of the ‘Cradle Of The Renaissance’ otherwise known as Florence. Appreciate the history of Naples original settlement dating to 2 B.C. No inclination to study abroad in the wonderful education offered in Bologna. You never even visited Sicily where the Godfather allegedly originated. You kept going back to Rome. I heard Imogen’s squeals of excitement and Oscar’s unbridled enthusiasm when Rupert cracked open the bottle of Pemod-Ricard Perrier-Jouet.
‘You drank that $50,000 bottle of champagne unaware it was more than your annual salary and ignorant even of the label. When Rupert produced it, your face was blank. I was blacklisted last night. Left as an impartial observer. I saw a girl who was vague and foggy when any details pertaining to her family, education and profession arose. Why is that?’
‘Robert I don’t know what your mad head is formulating.’
‘I had the notion that you’d be happy to crawl into my bed and let me use your body for a night. Don’t look shocked. It’s what you do. You bed Oscar. In exchange he takes you to the Hamptons. You lay with your legs spread. When he’s done, you lounge in the luxury he provides’
Fighting the urge to slap his face at the insinuation, Katy controlled herself. He may deserve it, but it would only draw attention and possibly incite Robert to voice his suspicions.
‘I felt my overtures were sensitive, but you went running back to Oscar. You’re nothing special, Katy. In fact, part of me thinks by taking this particular route, I’m letting you falsely believe you have some relevance or place in our world. You don’t. You won’t fit it. Turning me down for Oscar. Turning me down full stop. You’re a nobody. Blessed with an amazing figure. I want a ride. You weren’t in a position to refuse me. That you thought you could, needs to be corrected.’
‘You are out of your mind,’ she hissed.
‘No, you are. I don’t work. You’ve got my card. I would suggest at some point this week you pop in and pay me a visit. Job done. Lesson learned. Oscar’s none the wiser. You can continue to bleed him until he sees you for the gold-digger you are.’
‘That will never happen.’
‘It will if you want to keep Oscar.’
‘Oscar’s twice the man you’ll ever be.’
‘What the Daddy’s boy, ginger banker? Do you seriously think he’ll find you as intoxicating when he finds you’re a sheep? Working nine to five for minimum wage? This isn’t a romantic movie, Katy—it’s called real life.’
‘I’ll take my chances.’
‘Okay. As they were all praising your countrymen earlier for your ability to ‘share’ Jerry Springer style, shall we bring everyone over to discuss it in the open now?’
Katy knew Oscar needed to know the truth, but not like this. Robert was physically beautiful but his twisted sense of what the world owed him made him ugly in Katy’s eyes.
‘Fine. I’ll see you during the week,’ she said serenely.
‘If you disappoint me, Katy, Oscar won’t be all you lose. You’ll lose your membership at Exclusive Love.com. Once that membership’s revoked you won’t go near another British millionaire. You’ll be forced to crawl back under whatever rock it is you snuck out from.’
Chapter Eighteen
‘What was that all about?’ asked Oscar, as they got in the car.
‘Promise you won’t get mad?’
‘I can’t make that promise.’
‘Fine, it can wait till we’re on the highway.’
Familiar in each other’s company their closeness felt natural. Hitting the tarmac, the atmosphere in the Ferrari wasn’t threatening in the slightest. For Katy an egg timer had been turned. The gra
ins through the hourglass were counting down till the moment she lost Oscar forever.
‘He’s basically annoyed I rejected him. Robert’s threatening me to sleep with him.’
Flushing in fury, Oscar hit the steering wheel.
‘We need to go back and sort this out. If Rupert knew-’
‘Oscar, no. I’m telling you this because I trust you. Don’t stir up trouble in a family and don’t ruin what has been an unforgettable weekend.’
Risking a peck to her cheek for the authentic sentiment, Oscar partially relaxed. Waiting till they were on the motorway proved a wise judgment call on Katy’s part. Had she divulged the details at the marina, Oscar would have undoubtedly returned to the yacht to cause carnage defending her honor.
Forced to stay on the road and focus his attention on driving, Oscar was left with only questions to make sense of Robert’s sudden interest in Katy.
‘How’s he threatening you? Physically?’
‘No. Emotionally.’
‘Give me an example?’
‘He was saying you weren’t in love with me, as in the person I am. Allegedly my appeal to you is on the basis of my ‘cracking figure’ and suitable background. His words not mine. If it wasn’t for those two factors you wouldn’t have anything to do with me.’
‘Katy, you know that’s not true. You’re not stupid. It’s mind games. Manipulation. A pathetic attempt to drive a wedge between us,’ assured Oscar. ‘I hate tempting fate when we’re driving. If you were in a car accident and it burst into flames, I can guarantee you it wouldn’t change how I see you. If I walked into the hospital to find you missing a limb and awaiting a skin graft for third degree burns to the face you’d still be the most beautiful girl I’ve ever been with and want to continue to be with.’
The frankness and brutal honesty of Oscar’s revelation caught Katy completely off-guard.
‘Do you actually mean that?’
‘I do.’
Oscar said it as solemnly as if he were taking his marriage vows. He did mean it. Katy’s physical assets certainly made a pretty package, but without her fire, passion and sharp humor he’d move on from her remarkably quickly without remorse, to find a woman compatible with his nature. Surrounded by choices, Oscar didn’t have to compromise in finding the right woman. He knew Katy was the woman he needed as well as being the woman he wanted.
‘I can see the game he’s playing, but how did he make you feel threatened?’
Touching as Oscar’s emotional revelations were, the concerned frown creasing his forehead dragged them back to the unsavory topic of Robert.
‘My truth I’d never been to the Hamptons.’
‘I knew it was a lie,’ said Oscar, releasing the steering wheel to click his fingers.
‘No. It was true, but I was embarrassed. I’ve never been to France or Italy. Those holidays weren’t feasible for my parents. Not the way I was raised. Any conversation you want to have with me about Italy and your travels will end up one-sided. Watching ‘Gladiator’ on high definition is the closest I ever got to holidaying in Rome.’
Oscar guffawed loudly.
‘Stop it. I told you, I clam up when I feel in an awkward situation,’ she wailed.
‘Okay, I get that. You realize lying about where you spent your holidays does not in any way soften the impact that you’re from New York but haven’t visited the Hamptons.’
‘Is it any different to a movie buff that’s never seen the Star Wars Trilogy?’ posited Katy.
‘What movie buff wouldn’t want to see the Star Wars Trilogy?’ asked the billionaire die-hard George Lucas fan unable to comprehend such a notion.
‘I have a movie mad friend who has never seen any of the Star Wars series. He takes pride in that fact and vowed never to watch them.’
‘This “friend” isn’t you is it? Because not watching Star Wars might be the deal breaker Robert is desperately seeking in respect to our relationship.’
‘No. You can relax knowing I watched them with Dad. You and I are safe. I’m giving you a scenario you can relate to.’
‘I’d have given you opportunity to watch the movies with me before I dumped you,’ hectored Oscar.
‘I’m honored you think that highly of me,’ she quipped.
‘All right. Basically, Robert’s attempting to put seeds of doubt in your head about us. If you don’t give in to the lazy lothario, he’ll tell me that in a drunken stupor you lied about taking a vacation in Europe.’
‘That and the fact I didn’t know anything about the champagne I was guzzling. He told me it goes for $50,000 a bottle. Obviously on my wages if I treated myself to a bottle of that champagne, I’d be on a tight budget for the rest of the year. Incidentally I’m on Exclusive Love as an out and out gold-digger. You have been warned.’
‘He’s a serious criminal mastermind. We should be careful,’ mocked Oscar. ‘A drunken liar when embarrassed and an inexpert knowledge of champagne. That he genuinely thinks those are reasons that would change my feelings speaks volumes about him. To judge me by his standards. What kind of a man does he think I am?’
‘Go figure.’
‘How’d you leave it in the end?’ canvassed a far calmer Oscar.
‘I’ve got next week to do the dirty deed. If I don’t you’ll be in receipt of his creative version of my shameful confessions. Of course I don’t even have his address. I never got round to informing him a gust of wind inadvertently blew his card from my fingers into the water and I was unable to recover it.’
Her brave, un-bothered facade was convincing to Oscar.
‘I will need to talk to Rupert about this,’ he said softly.
‘I know. Let’s see how the week goes. If it’s all hot air and he disappears, why bother Rupert and Imogen?’
‘Obviously I’m thrilled I met you Katy, but I cannot wait to cancel my membership and forget ever hearing the name of that website.’
‘Even though we epitomize the dream they sell.’
‘Even though we are the poster couple of Exclusive Love. I’m signing off tonight. Speaking of signing off, where am I dropping you?’
Katy was exhausted. The charade of living a life vastly removed from her own was tiring. Sharing a life with Oscar agreed with her, as she discovered over the idyllic weekend. Pretending to live in New York City given her location and job was taking a physical and mental toll. Unable to face conjuring a story as to why Oscar couldn’t deliver her to her pretend flat, she decided to tread lightly on the path of honesty.
In all fairness, Oscar’s measured responses to the truths she’d been willing to confess en-route gave her no major cause for concern. Due to the alcohol and inability to recall the previous night with any clarity, Katy had a degree of flexibility in how she’d revealed the truths to Oscar. He’d exercised leniency when she’d selectively divulged a reduced version of her encounter with Robert.
Admittedly their experience on the beach and resulting sex haze had assisted his mood. That aside, gradually introducing him to the real life and finances of Katy Morgan might be best started here and now.
‘Actually I’m staying with my parents tonight. It’s about an hour’s drive from NYC.’
‘I should’ve asked earlier. I assumed you’d be in town.’
Leaning over, Katy typed the coordinates into the GPS. Reading the town name Oscar appeared enlightened.
‘For some reason when you said you were from New York, I automatically assumed New York City. That oversight may explain your family’s absence from the Hamptons.’
Turning into the driveway, Katy could barely face Oscar’s reaction.
‘They’ve got such a dear place. The ranch style, weatherboard, massive patio, all on one level is quaint. Suits the town don’t you think? I feel like I kind of ‘get’ you a bit more. Katy you ooze warmth and acceptance. It’s why I was blown away with how you managed to effortlessly mix with an entire party full of people you didn’t know at the charity barbeque. Growing up here, as opposed to New
York City. I can see the lower population engenders a safer town and stronger sense of community. You’ve carried that over with you to the Big Apple. That trust and friendliness endears you to people.’
‘There are worse places to grow up.’
‘What do your folks do?’
‘They work at the local high school.’
That was true. Oscar needn’t know her mum was a dinner lady and her father a literary authoritarian.
‘They must be proud of everything you’ve accomplished.’
‘They are,’ confirmed Katy regulating her breathing.
Realizing he wasn’t going to be invited in to meet the parents, Oscar hugged her. Seriously considering marriage when faced with the prospect of losing Katy after he left New York, that she wasn’t even prepared to introduce him to her parents and explore her family home was frustrating. The pace of their relationship was strewn with obstacles Katy seemed unwilling to remove. Tears wet his shirt.
‘Katy what’s wrong? Tell me so I can help.’
Oscar relented. Given the momentum of the weekend, their row, the realization Oscar’s New York residency wasn’t permanent, her high pressure job and Robert the moron coercing her into sex, Katy had a valid reason for wanting to keep Oscar at arm’s length with regard to her parents. Their shared feelings were traveling at the speed of light. Katy deserved a place where she could rest, relax and feel safe from his world.
Gathering herself, she got out of the car. Taking her suitcase from the boot, Oscar kissed her tenderly, lifting her face to his.
‘I’ve got my exclusive love and for her to remain exclusive I need to invest my time and attention solely in her. I’m ringing Clara tonight to sign off. That way we close another potential entrance Robert may think he has on digging dirt on you. Don’t worry about a thing. You and I are solid.’
The look of disbelief on Katy’s face was baffling to Oscar.
‘Call me if you need me,’ he urged.
Given his breeding, Katy knew he wouldn’t leave till she was at the front door. The engine revved as she fumbled for her keys in her handbag at the front door on the patio. Sitting on the swing seats for a hearty cry was the only way to avoid facing her parents for the full debrief of the weekend her parents demanded of her as their only child.
