The lawyer made a huffing sound on the other end of the line. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”
“You’re there at, what – noon Central on a Sunday? You can’t be a partner or anyone high up. How much do you make?”
“I’m not telling you that.”
“I’m guessing 190K a year. Am I close?”
The silence let me know I’d probably overshot the number.
“I’ll give you $20,000 right now to give me that phone number,” I offered.
There was a long pause.
“…is this some sort of joke?”
“You got a Paypal address?” I asked.
“…yeah…?”
“Give it to me. I’ll send you a thousand dollars just to prove I’m serious.”
“No – no, I don’t want any part of this – ”
“I’m not going to tell anybody if you don’t, Bob. I’m just trying to prove I’m not bullshitting you so I can send you twenty grand and everybody wins. Now what’s your email address?”
Bob gave in.
Bryce was already ahead of me and had jumped on a laptop. Once I spelled out the email address, he hit ‘Send.’
About thirty seconds later, the lawyer swore. “Holy shit…”
“You want the other nineteen grand, I need that number, Bob.”
“I could get into real trouble for this…”
“I’ll tell Worthington I found it on her refrigerator. What’s the number?”
There was a long pause, then he read off seven digits starting with 316.
“Thank you,” I said. “Expect the money within 30 seconds.”
After Bryce hit ‘send’ a second time, he commented, “That was a hell of a lot of money to spend on a phone number.”
Vic shook his head. “Naaah – I’ve lost four million on one hand of poker before.”
Bryce just stared at him.
Vic put his feet up on the coffee table. “The world is different when you have ‘fuck you’ money. Trust me, you’ll see. That is, if we get that IPO,” he said, looking pointedly over at me.
I just ignored him and dialed the number for Katie’s father.
115
“Hello?” a man’s familiar voice answered.
“This is Ian McLaren,” I said. “Did your daughter – ”
“Who?”
I realized he either didn’t know my name or didn’t remember it. “The guy at your daughter’s house yesterday.”
There was a brief pause as he figured out who I was. Then came the outraged reply: “How did you get this number?!”
“Off a Post-it note on her refrigerator. Look, I need to speak to Katie.”
“So call her,” he snarled.
“I can’t get a hold of her.”
I could hear the dawning comprehension in his voice turn to glee. “She’s not answering your calls… HA, so she finally came to her senses!”
His answer told me something important. “You haven’t spoken to her?”
“Not since yesterday, no.”
“What about your wife?”
“No. You should’ve taken the money when you had a chance, you worthless piece of – ”
I immediately hung up. No sense wasting time on an idiot.
“What happened?” Bryce asked.
“She hasn’t talked to him.”
Vic shook his head. “Well, that was a waste of twenty grand.”
“What happened to ‘fuck you’ money?” Bryce asked.
“That could’ve been literal ‘fuck you’ money. That’s a lot of lap dances and a little extra, if you know what I’m sayin’.”
“And four million isn’t?”
“Yeah, but I could have won four million dollars.”
“But you lost it!”
“GUYS!” I yelled. “What do I do now?!”
Vic shrugged. “I don’t know, get drunk and spend twenty grand on something good?”
“Are you sure she’s going back to Kansas?” Bryce asked.
“…no.” I closed my eyes in disgust. I couldn’t believe I’d been so stupid – but my panic had gotten the best of me. “In fact, she sounded like that’s the last place she would have gone.”
“So where else would she go?”
“I don’t know!” I seethed. “She never mentioned any of her friends, or where they lived, other than Kansas.”
“Was there someplace you two talked about a lot?” Vic asked.
I froze in place as I remembered something she’d said.
A $600 plane ticket. What we had was worth a whole lot more than that.
“…Hawaii… I’ll bet she’s going to Hawaii…”
Bryce nodded enthusiastically. “Okay – good – Hawaii’s good – ”
“Hawaii’s awfully big, bro,” Vic said in an I don’t know, man kind of voice.
“Was there a specific place in Hawaii you guys talked about?” Bryce asked.
The realization hit me like a thunderbolt.
“I know where she’s going,” I said, with more certainty than I’d ever felt before in my life.
“Well… to be fair, you thought she was going to Kansas, too,” Bryce pointed out. “What if you’re wrong?”
“Then you get a nice vacation anyway.”
Bryce looked at me in surprise. “What? You want me to go?”
“Both of you. I’m going to need your help with some things. But we need to book a private jet – ”
“You can use mine,” Vic offered.
I looked at him, surprised. “You have a private plane here in LA?”
“Well, I can get one.”
“On such short notice?”
“Not a problem. But why’s it specifically gotta be private?” Then he added in an aside to Bryce, “Other than that’s the only way to fly.”
“If she’s going where I think she’s going, she’s probably going to have at least one connecting flight. And if we use a private jet, we can get there a couple of hours before her.”
Vic raised one eyebrow. “Is this going to help the IPO?”
I was about to lose my temper. “Yes, it’ll help the goddamn IPO.”
He waved his hand magnanimously. “Then it’s all yours, man.”
Bryce stared at Vic in shock. “You have your own private jet?”
“It’s so freakin’ sweet, dude. Just wait till the IPO – you can get one, too – ”
“SHUT UP ABOUT THE IPO AND CALL YOUR PILOT NOW!” I roared.
“Jeez… it’s supposed to be ‘fuck you’ money, not ‘yes sir, how high, sir,’ money,” Vic grumbled as he pulled out his phone.
116
Katie
As soon as I got back to my house, I decided I had to leave. Ian would come for me – there was no doubt in my mind of that – and I knew I would eventually cave. He wouldn’t stop until I gave in, and I wanted him too much to keep saying ‘no’ forever.
It was a tough decision, and it hurt like hell – not to mention there was a part of me that was screaming, Screw him! Why does he get to stay and I don’t?!
But I’d barely made it out of my engagement. I never wanted to go back to Rick or that old way of life… but I still wanted Ian. Badly. I wanted his smiles, I wanted him to hold me, I wanted his jokes and playfulness with the sand castles…
And I so wanted to make love to him again. To kiss him… to feel him inside me…
That’s why I had to leave if I wanted to keep my self-respect intact.
I decided I would go now, before I had a chance to give in.
Aisha was there when I walked in. I sobbed as I told her I had to go. She tried to persuade me to stay, but I couldn’t. I felt so guilty about leaving her in the lurch that I wrote her a check big enough to give her some time to find another roommate. Then I packed hurriedly and left in an Uber for the airport. She was crying on the front porch as my car drove away.
On the way to LAX, I booked my flight on my cell phone. I knew exactly where I was going.
I had longed to go there with Ian… but if that wasn’t going to happen, I could still go by myself.
The flight was expensive, almost a thousand dollars for a same-day economy seat. But I was in luck – there was a plane leaving in two hours.
Once I got through security, I sat numbly in the waiting area. Every so often I gave silent thanks to my grandmother for giving me enough inheritance to be able to make such an extravagant decision.
I’ll admit, the price tag worried me. With the check I’d written for Aisha and now this flight, my account was running low. I would have to get a job in Hawaii, there was no question about that. But at least I could get there… and I could take a little time to heal before I had to worry about the future.
I’ll think about the future eventually, I promised my grandmother. But I think I’m going to be mourning the past for a while.
Once I got on the plane, I cried the whole way to Honolulu. Sometimes silently, sometimes with great big gulping sobs.
The middle-aged man in the seat next to me was incredibly uncomfortable with my emotional display. At first he tried to ignore me, but eventually he gave up and had the stewardess move him. It wasn’t a full flight, so he finally got away from the crazy weepy girl.
I felt bad about the scene I was making, and tried to stifle my sobs… but I couldn’t stop completely. I just felt too damn horrible.
By the time we landed, though, I was sure I would never cry another tear. I just didn’t have any more in me. Although I wondered if I would feel anything other than this hollow, achy pain ever again.
It took three hours for my connecting flight, so I sat in a restaurant picking dejectedly at a burger and fries. I forced myself to eat a couple of bites, but that was all I could manage.
Once I boarded, I sat by the window watching the sun set over the ocean. Because we’d been flying west, we’d gained several time zones, and the sun was just now dipping below the horizon.
It was one of the most spectacular things I’d ever seen – like the sky was on fire with vibrant oranges and pinks.
More than anything, I wished I could have shared it with Ian.
On the 45 minute flight to Kauai, I thought back on all the amazing things in our relationship.
How he’d saved me from the attack that night…
The way he’d taken care of me and bandaged my hands…
My having to argue him into teaching me how to surf…
The way his eyes sparkled when he grinned…
The warmth and kindness he was capable of…
The way he could make me laugh…
How safe he made me feel when he hugged me…
His ability to admit when he was wrong, and say he was sorry…
The feel of his skin under my hands…
How strong and powerful his muscles were…
The indescribable pleasure he gave me in bed…
I wondered if I was doing the right thing. Actually, I was incredibly scared that I wasn’t.
But I forced myself to remember that I’d initially questioned leaving Rick, too. I had felt such guilt and shame over running out on the wedding, and didn’t actually recover fully until I met Ian.
There was a difference, though: when I left Rick, I wasn’t in love with him. I’d felt trapped for so long, it was like I was fleeing a cage.
But I was still madly, deeply, passionately in love with Ian.
And I didn’t feel like I was fleeing a cage so much as flinging a diamond necklace into the ocean.
You don’t know it’s a diamond necklace, I told myself. It could just as easily be something that might poison you over time.
But the fact that I didn’t know for sure terrified me.
Without warning, I started crying all over again just as we began to land.
117
It was dark when I walked up to the Hertz desk and got the keys for the car I’d rented. When they asked me if I knew where to go, I said, “Can you tell me how to get to… I think it’s pronounced Kay-ay?”
The lady smiled, pulled out a map, and drew a circle around my destination: Ke’e Beach.
Ian was right. It was at the very northernmost tip of the island.
I knew I would use Google Maps to get there, but I still felt better clutching the map in my hand as I made my way outside.
Ten minutes later I was on the dark, deserted road to the north of the island. I thought about just packing it in for the night and going to the hotel room I’d rented in Princeville. After all, my body thought it was three hours later than the local time, and seven hours of flying hadn’t done me any favors, either.
But I wanted to see it. I wanted to see it tonight, the way Ian had described it, with the moonlight glinting on the water.
I knew I would probably cry some more, but tears be damned – I wanted to see the place I would have gone with him.
As I drove the hour-long trip north, I verified many of the things he’d told me about. The island really was lush, with lots of greenery on the sides of the road. It really was undeveloped, with miles and miles of road unbroken by any sign of human habitation. The skies really were clearer out here. The moon was just a sliver tonight, and if you turned off the car’s headlights, you could see the Milky Way with no trouble.
I made my way to Hanalei, and he was right about that, too – it was the cutest little hippie village. I’m sure the houses on the water were worth millions, but the shops and cafes and restaurants were so cozy and unassuming. I knew I’d be spending a lot of time there when I wasn’t on the beach or driving around the island.
I just wish it could have been with Ian, I thought sadly, and my heart felt like it broke a little bit more.
I passed by Maniniholo Dry Cave as I got closer. Ian was right again: it looked like a giant had cracked the base of a mountain and pulled out an enormous slab of rock.
I kept going, past beachgoers finally packing it in for the day, until I reached an empty dirt parking lot under a canopy of trees. I ignored the sign telling me no entry after sundown, and picked my way through the trail by the light of my cell phone.
It was absolutely beautiful. The tree branches arching over my head formed a kind of green cathedral, with the stars occasionally peeping through the leaves like diamonds sparkling on black satin.
Something was odd, though. The closer I got to the beach, the more I noticed an orange glow through the foliage.
Somebody must be having a bonfire.
I didn’t realize how wrong I was until I broke through the jungle and out onto the sand of the beach.
The light came from tiki torches – dozens of them. They surrounded a gorgeous sand castle, eight feet wide by five feet high, that was…
…that was…
I gasped, and put my hands to my mouth.
The sand castle was made the way Ian made them, covered in dripping handfuls of wet sand.
Just as I realized what that meant, he stepped out from behind the sculpture, where apparently he’d been crouching.
“Katie,” he said softly.
I immediately started sobbing, overcome with emotion. “…how?...”
He smiled. “With a little help from a couple of friends.”
He approached me slowly, a kind and loving expression on his face. He was dressed in a simple white dress shirt and khaki shorts, and walked over to me barefoot in the sand.
“Please,” he whispered. “I just want to tell you something. Will you let me tell you something?”
I nodded ‘yes.’ I couldn’t have spoken even if I’d wanted to, I was crying so hard. Happy tears, yes – but there was so much pain there, too.
He took my hands in his and gently guided me over to the sand castle. It was beautiful, with high towers and tiny windows and bridges caked with sand, just the way he’d made them back in Venice.
“There once was a prince who got married,” he said, his voice soft and deep, “but he chose unwisely. After a time he and his first wife ended their marriage. But
the prince grew hardened and embittered, and sat in a tower all by himself, distrustful of everyone, thinking that he would never find happiness again.
“The king and the queen told him he needed to get out of the tower and live again, but he didn’t listen… and then one day the king and queen passed on, and he found himself totally alone.
“He began to go out every day to the ocean, but in his heart, he was still locked inside that tower… until he saw a beautiful maiden from a strange, faraway land… named ‘Can’s Ass.’”
I laughed through my sobs in spite of myself.
He smiled, and looked me deeply in the eyes. “The beautiful maiden beguiled him at first, then befriended him, and eventually became his beloved. Little by little, he came out of that tower he’d constructed in his heart…”
Here his face clouded over with pain. Not anger, but sadness.
“But he didn’t tell her he was a prince until it was too late… and when he finally was ready to come out of the tower completely, she was gone, too. And he searched the entire world over for her. He made a promise to himself that if she would just say yes, he would never go back in that tower… that he would never lie to her again… and that, if she would have him, he would ask her to go buy a little shack on a beach somewhere… and have a lot of children they would name after rock stars…”
Again, I was laughing, my joy overcoming my tears.
“…and live happily ever after.”
He reached into a little window in the largest tower, and pulled out a key on a chain.
I laughed even harder, and smiled even wider, even though the tears were still rolling down my cheeks.
He got down on one knee in the sand, and held my hands in his as he gazed up at me. “Katie Worthington… I love you more than anything else in the world. Will you forgive me for being an idiot, and make me the luckiest man in the world by being my queen?”
I burst out sobbing, but they were happy tears and nothing else this time. I nodded, still unable to speak.
He grinned, placed the key in my hands, and curled my fingers over it. “And will you go live in that little shack with me down on the beach, and have a lot of children we name after rock stars?”
Sex On The Beach: Bad Boys Club Romance #1 Page 25
