Love And Money (Love Series - Book 2)

by K. L. Prince

  “Fine Harper, but you’re going to have to tell him yourself when he calls.”

  “Let’s see if he even calls first.”

  “Oh, he’s going to call. The way he was talking about you, he’s into you. Like I’ve told you, Caden and I grew up together. He’s doesn’t play girls. When he says that he is into you, he means it.”

  “Well, that’s good to know, but it has no bearing on my decision.”

  “You’re a stubborn cow, you know that,” Olivia says and sucks her teeth.

  “Tell me something I don’t know. Listen, I’m going to go. I’m all grimey from work and I need to take a shower. I’ll call you later, okay?”

  “Okay Harp, but please think about what I’ve said. You’re always moaning about how you wish that you could find a good guy and now one’s come forward. Just really think about what you’re turning away. You’re going to be making a big mistake and that’s my gut feeling.”

  “I appreciate your concern and I will take what you’ve said to heart, but I’m sure about my decision.”

  “Alright. Love you,” Olivia says.

  “Love you, too,” Harper replies and hangs up.

  * * * * *

  Caden calls Harper’s phone number again and gets her voicemail. He’s tried calling her several times and leaving messages, but he keeps receiving no response. The lack of communication baffles him. He thought that he and Harper had really hit it off at the charity event, so he doesn’t understand why she isn’t responding to his attempts to reach out and connect with her.

  Ever since the charity event, she has been on his mind. When he is alone in his office, his mind always drifts to her and he can’t concentrate at the task at hand. The way that he feels is unlike anything that he’s ever felt for a woman before. When he was with Madison, he could easily push her from his thoughts and continue on with his daily plans. Thoughts of Madison never bombarded his mind and stayed there. Harper, on the other hand, is a different story.

  When he thinks about Harper, he replays the events of the charity event over and over again. He can see her face clear as day and hear her voice. He can remember every single word that she said verbatim and the way her eyes crinkled up in the corner when she smiled. He can remember the way her whole face lit up when she laughed and the feeling of her soft skin in his hands when he helped her out of her chair. She is so beautiful in his eyes.

  What stands out for him the most about the charity event and the time he was able to spend with Harper is the way that he was able to open up to her. He felt very comfortable speaking to her about the frustration that he feels dealing with his father. Usually he keeps the feelings he has for his father locked away deep inside of him because confronting them makes them more real. He doesn’t want to admit to himself that his father is not a nice person and he is ashamed for other people to find out the truth. He puts on a front to the world that his relationship with his father is good, but the reality is that it’s a difficult and often strained relationship. When he was with Harper, he took off the mask that he always wears with ease. Talking to her was comforting and he felt at peace. He wants to see her again and see if that feeling is something that is authentic or just a fluke. He just wants to be in her presence again and test the waters.

  Harper not responding to his advances is a new thing for him. He’s not a stupid guy, he knows that he has been blessed with the good-looking gene. He looks at himself in the mirror everyday and he knows that he is above average in the looks department, which is why the women in his past have been so easy to obtain. Women usually fall at his feet. It’s unusual for him to go anywhere and not be hit on by a woman, and once a woman finds out that he comes from money, the door is usually wide open. He never takes advantage of women as a rule, but he could easily do so if he chose to. The usual ease that he has with women makes the rejection from Harper sting a little. Her rejection is a bit of a blow to his ego.

  Her rejection has also lit a fire under his feet in his pursuit of her. Her rejection of him has made him even more interested in her and has increased his interest in finding out what makes her tick. She obviously isn’t interested in what most women are interested in when searching for a man to be with. His good looks and his money aren’t enough for her to at least give him a chance and that intrigues him. Her rejection leads him to believe that there is more depth to her character and he likes that.

  He’s convinced that all that Harper needs is to spend just a little more time with him and she will come around. If he could just have a chance to show her how genuine he is, he is convinced that she will never leave his side. He’s more than convinced that if he just had one opportunity to speak to her, he could get into her good graces. Harper may think that she has successfully brushed him off, but she doesn’t know him well enough. He is not a quitter and he’s not going to give up on her. He’s going to chase her until she gives into him.

  He saw the way that she looked at him at the charity event. He felt the way her body responded to his presence and his touch. He is pretty sure that it isn’t an issue of no attraction or pure disinterest. Harper was into him, he could feel it. He could hear it in her voice and see it in her eyes. She likes him and he likes her.

  He can’t quite understand the hesitancy on her part, but he’s determined to break down the wall and get inside. He’s going to have to put in a little more work than he’s used to, but he’s more than willing to do so. He is convinced that Harper is a special woman and he is not going to let her get away. He will do whatever it takes to get to her. He just has to come up with a good plan first and he will.

  He is going to treat Harper like he treats his business. He is going to come up with a plan and he’s going to execute it with laser-like focus and determination. He is going to get to the bottom of her reluctance and dispel any and all misconceptions that she may have about him. He’s going to sweep her off her feet and make her his. She may think that she has gotten rid of him, but she has another thing coming. Caden Mason gets what he wants and Harper is what he wants. It’s only a matter of time before she is in his arms and subsequently in his bed.

  * * * * *

  Harper’s feet hurt. She’s working a double shift at the restaurant, but she wishes she was elsewhere. She wishes that she was laid out on some beach somewhere, sipping a nice cold drink, soaking up the rays, and not worrying about where the next dollar would be coming from and paying bills. Unfortunately, life is a bitch and she is pouring drinks in a restaurant with feet that feel like they’re going to fall off.

  When the opportunity presents itself, she never turns down extra work. It’s her only means of potentially getting ahead at the moment. She doesn’t mind being a waitress, but it can be tiresome and stressful at times. She enjoys the people that she gets to interact with on a daily basis, but how to make more money is always at the back of her mind.

  She’s considered going back to school and finding something that she could turn into a prosperous career, but there just isn’t enough time in the day and there isn’t enough money to pay for school. She’s considered getting a student loan, but the last thing she needs in her life is more debt. She doesn’t want to dig herself a whole so deep that it will take years to climb out of it.

  She’s hates to admit it, but she’s stuck and she’s not sure how to get out of the rut that she’s in. She’s in a vicious cycle and she wants something better for her life, but she doesn’t know how to successfully accomplish her goals.

  She doesn’t want to grow old working in the restaurant, but she doesn’t see any other alternative. She has her and her mother to support, so she keeps her head down and keeps moving forward in what she deems her dead-end life. If she didn’t have her mother to support, as well as herself, she might take a risk and try to do something else, but she can’t risk putting her mother in harm’s way. If she takes a chance and screws up, it’s not just her that will be affected. She has to take her mother into account in all the decisions that she makes. She cou
ldn’t bear to see her mother’s broken demeanor if she screwed things up for them and they ended up homeless or starving, so she keeps on waiting tables everyday for low pay.

  Her mind drifts to the night of the charity event. She remembers all the people that were there with their expensive gowns and jewelry. It’s hard not to become jealous after you spend in evening with the rich like she did. It’s hard not to become bitter when you see so many people who don’t have to worry about money and you have to work so hard to make one dollar.

  Some of the people that were at the event were born into money and some people worked hard for their money, but it doesn’t change the level of envy that she feels in her heart. She often wonders why some people are luckier than others. She often wonders why people like the ones at the charity event were blessed enough to have or acquire so much wealth while other people, who work their asses off, barely get by. It’s one of the mysteries in life that she wishes she had the answer for.

  Thoughts of Caden enter her mind. He is one of the lucky ones. He told her that he works hard and he loves business, but working is an option for him. If he were to wake up in the morning and decide that he didn’t feel like working that would be completely fine. He wouldn’t have to worry about the electricity being turned off and the bill collectors calling. That is where they are so different. How could he possibly relate to the trials and tribulations of her life? He can’t and in there lies the problem.

  Caden has been calling her and leaving messages, but she doesn’t answer them. When she dials her voicemail and she listens to his messages, she loves hearing her voice, but she resists the urge to return his calls.

  Hearing his deep, smooth voice makes her body tingle and she feels warm and fuzzy inside, but it’s not enough. She doesn’t want a man in her life that will look down on her. She doesn’t want to be with a man that will pity her because she has to slave to make a buck and he is on easy street. She doesn’t want to be with a man who will feel like it’s his obligation to pay for everything because he makes more money. She doesn’t want to be a burden. She wants to contribute to a relationship and how can she do that when her partner makes leaps and bounds more money than she does? She wants to be with someone that she can look directly in the eye and not have to look way up to see.

  She wishes that things could be different. She wishes that Caden wasn’t rich. She wishes that he didn’t come from a life of privilege. She wishes that he were just the average Joe, who goes to work everyday just like her and struggles to get through life like she does. She wishes that Caden’s father wasn’t a money-hungry man, who believes that the only person that is suitable for his son is a woman who comes from a wealthy and powerful family. She wishes things could be different because she really was attracted to Caden from the moment that she laid eyes on him, but the balances are unequal. She can’t see any level ground between them. It’s a shame how life works out sometimes.

  So many times she has thought that she was about to obtain something wonderful and it has been ripped from her grasp. Caden is just another one of those things. She’s lost so much in her life that it doesn’t hurt as much as it used to, which is also a shame. The only benefit of the all the losses in her life is that she’s grown thick skin. It takes a lot to really set her spiraling into despair.

  Eventually, Caden will stop calling, she’s sure of it. In fact, she’s sure that he’s probably gotten the hint already. She doesn’t feel bad about her decision, because a man like him will have no trouble moving onto the next available woman. She is sure that with his good looks and his money, she will be replaced almost instantly.

  Caden is definitely a catch – there is no doubt in her mind about that. If circumstances had been different, she would have undoubtedly given him a shot, but things are different and nothing is going to change in the immediate future. If she were one of the wealthy, she would have scooped Caden up in a heartbeat. There would have been no second guesses or contemplation. She would have planted a kiss on him on the night of the charity event. She may have even done so without being wealthy if his father hadn’t spoken at the table that night, but his father did, so she didn’t and she never will.

  She would like nothing more than for Caden to become a distant memory. He has become a reminder of everything that she doesn’t have and will never have. Hearing his voice on her voicemail, although is gives her the chills, it always makes her heart ache at the same time.

  Hearing his voice creates a longing inside of her and each time he calls and leaves a message that longing gets bigger and bigger. She doesn’t know how much bigger the longing inside of her can get before it bursts and she breaks down.

  Wanting something and knowing that it’s not the right thing for you is a horrible feeling. It’s like standing outside a boutique and staring at a beautiful dress that you want so badly, but you can’t afford it - only it’s worse because love is involved.

  She would love more than anything to be with Caden and spend her free time with him, but she knows that the road only leads to her having a broken heart. She’s believes that avoiding him is saving herself from more intense pain and agony than what she feels from rejecting him. She’s not fully invested in Caden, which makes things a little easier, but it still hurts. She wishes that Olivia hadn’t given him her phone number.

  She pushes Caden from her mind. She’s been doing that a lot lately. He keeps popping up in her thoughts or calling her and reminding her that he’s still alive and wants to talk to her. Just when she thinks that he’s disappeared for good, he enters again.

  She doesn’t have the guts to answer her phone and tell him how she feels because she doesn’t believe that when she answers that she will be able to go through with it. Once she hears his voice on the other end up the phone, she believes that she will be sucked in and she won’t want to leave. Ignoring his calls is the best route for her and she’s sticking to it. No self-respecting person would keep on calling a person that doesn’t ever answer their calls. Caden must have more dignity than that. He can’t keep calling forever, can he?

  Chapter 3

  Harper pulls her car into the parking lot of the restaurant. She is meeting Olivia for lunch. As she gets out, she notices that Olivia’s Mercedes is parked a couple of spaces down from hers. Seeing her friend’s car causes excitement to bubble up inside of her. She hasn’t seen her friend in awhile because she’s been too busy with work, picking up extra shifts, so she can catch up on the rent. She and Olivia have only been able to speak via the telephone or over the computer, so seeing her friend in person is going to be very nice. They need to catch up and she needs to have some serious girl time.

  When she gets inside the restaurant and finds Olivia, Olivia is looking over the menu and sipping a drink. When Olivia sees her, her eyes light up and she stands to meet her. They hug each other like they haven’t seen each other in years and giggle. That’s how close they are. Not seeing each other for a couple of days is the equivalent of not seeing each other for years.

  She sits down across from Olivia and orders a drink from the waiter, before saying, “So, what’s going on with you? You’re hair looks nice.”

  “You like? Janelle decided to do something different with it and I absolutely adore it. I really needed a change. I was sick of the way it looked before.”

  “Yeah, it looks really nice.”

  “Plus, I wanted to cut it because me and my parents are going on vacation to Italy for awhile.”

  “Wow. How long are you going for?”

  “The trip is indefinite. The end date is open-ended. It’s for however long we all feel like being in Italy. Remember how I told you that my dad was totally acting like a lunatic from stress over this deal that he has been working on?”

  “Yeah, I remember,” Harper says while looking over the menu.

  “Well, he landed the deal. It was a multimillion-dollar deal, so he’s happy about that, but the stress that the whole thing caused him was too much. Now he just wants to g
et away and not think about work or be in the house at all.”

  “Well, tell him that I said congratulations. I wish that I could go with you all on the vacation, but you know I have to stay here and work.”

  “I know. We would totally have a good time in Italy. So, have you spoken to Caden yet?” Olivia asks, quickly changing the subject to one of favorite subjects – her love life.

  Harper rolls her eyes. She knew that Caden was going to be the first thing that Olivia brought up. “No, I told you, I’m not getting involved with Caden.”

  “Harper, I saw Caden at the country club and he looked like a kid who has lost his puppy when he asked me why you weren’t taking his phone calls.”

  Harper feels a little twinge in her heart. “He did?” she asks.

  “He did. When he asked me about you, I didn’t know what to say to him. I just said that I didn’t know what was going on with you.”

  “What else did he say?”

  “That was about it. He wasn’t getting anywhere with me, so he just kind of sauntered away with his head down. Harper, I don’t know why you’re torturing the poor guy. He really likes you. Any woman would consider themselves lucky and would be happy to have Caden interested in them, but not you. You know you don’t make any sense, right?”

  “Olivia, you’re exaggerating and do we really have to go over this again?” Harper says and groans. “Talking about this again and again is just beating a dead horse. Caden and I have absolutely nothing in common, which means that our relationship would be doomed to fail. What the hell would we even talk about?”

  “Let’s see….tons of things. How about the weather? Or music? Harper, I come from money and you don’t, and we seem to get along just fine. We never run out of things to talk about and we have a lot in common. In fact, we talk for hours and hours sometimes and we’ve been friends for approximately fifteen years, so what’s your excuse now?” Olivia says and stares at her, waiting for an answer.