A Night With Consequences

by Margaret Mayo

  ‘You could tell him that it’s to buy stuff for the baby,’ said her parent. ‘Men have no idea how much these things cost, so I’m sure he won’t ask questions.’

  The amount she needed to borrow would buy an awful lot of baby things, thought Kara. But because her parent still looked pale and fragile, her breathing difficult, as though she was indeed on the verge of a heart attack, Kara finally reluctantly nodded. ‘Very well. I’ll ask him.’

  Her mother’s relief was instant and some of the colour returned to her face. ‘You’re a good girl, Kara, and I’m sorry to have to burden you with this.’

  It was going to be the hardest thing she had ever had to do. Telling Blake that she was pregnant would be nothing compared to this.

  When she went to work the next morning she went straight into Blake’s office. It was no good sitting thinking about it. She had to ask him immediately.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ His grey eyes scanned her face. ‘You look pale. Are you not feeling well? If that’s the case you shouldn’t have come to work.’

  He looked so concerned, so very concerned, that Kara almost backed out. How could she do this? But seeing her mother’s pale and anxious face in her mind’s eye was a warning that she had to go through with it.

  ‘I’m all right,’ she insisted. ‘It’s just that I need to ask you a favour—a very big one.’ Her heart raced, thumping so hard that it felt as if it was trying to burst out of her chest. Perspiration gathered under her arms, and her whole body was pulsing with anxiety.

  ‘Ask away,’ he said. ‘Is it something to do with your mother? I thought she didn’t look very well the last time I saw her.’

  ‘I—I need some money, Blake,’ she said, not answering his question. ‘I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t necessary.’ She swallowed the lump that had gathered in her throat and forced herself to look at him. She didn’t want Blake guessing how hard this was for her. She had lain awake all night worrying. But her mother’s health was at stake here. She was left with no choice. It was either asking Blake to help or ending up losing her home or her mother—possibly both.

  ‘But of course. What was I thinking? You need to buy things for the baby.’

  Relief flooded her that she did not have to actually lie. ‘You’ve no idea how much they cost these days.’ How could she sound so normal when every nerve tingled with fear? When the blood pumped hotly and uncontrollably around her body? Never in her life had she done anything like this, and she hoped she never had to do so again. Fear froze her limbs and dried her mouth, and she was sure he must see how uneasy she was.

  ‘I will open a bank account for you at once. Shall we say five thousand pounds?’

  Kara closed her eyes. How could she tell him that that was not enough? That she wanted five times that amount? It was difficult to comprehend how the sum her father had initially borrowed in her mother’s name had grown to that amount. But it had. Interest had piled on top of interest, and now they were facing dire consequences if it was not repaid. There was no one else she could turn to except Blake.

  When his finger lifted her chin she shuddered, opening her eyes, feeling her throat close up as she stared into the darkness of his gaze. His brow was furrowed but he spoke softly. ‘What is wrong, my beautiful Kara?’

  ‘It’s not enough,’ she whispered.

  She felt the way his body grew tense, even though his expression did not change. ‘Not enough? Pray tell me what you are going to buy for this baby of ours?’

  The inflection in his voice worried her. ‘There are lots of things,’ she said hesitantly. ‘A pram, a cot, a pushchair, clothes—all sorts. I need to turn a room into a nursery, so there’ll have to be new furniture. I’ll need about twenty-five thousand pounds.’ Her heart was thumping so loud she feared it would jump out of her chest.

  He looked long and hard into her eyes, making Kara wish herself a thousand miles away. Never in her life had she felt as embarrassed and as uncomfortable as she did at this moment. She had promised her mother, though, and she had to go through with it.

  ‘And do you really think I believe that’s how much things for a baby costs?’ he asked, his voice taking on an even harder edge. ‘I would suggest—’ his fingers dug deeply into her forearms, bruising, hurting, but she did not flinch ‘—that this is for your own personal gain. Am I right?’

  His eyes burned into her, and Kara felt her insides begin to shrivel, but she could not let her parent down. ‘You may think what you like, Blake, but I am not in the habit of begging for money without just cause.’

  Blake hated the way he was thinking, but it very much looked as though Kara had had a taste of the high life and found that she liked it—that she preferred it to the simple life she led with her mother, and was now trying to cash in on it. He did not know how much it cost to prepare for a baby, but he was damn sure it wasn’t nearly as much as Kara was asking. It was not that he minded giving her money for his unborn child, but he did not like being taken for a fool.

  Unbidden memories of Melanie flashed into his mind. Melanie trying to pass off another man’s child as his. Melanie wanting a share of his wealth. And once the idea was implanted he could not get rid of it. He could not ignore the fact that he had seen Kara on her doorstep in the arms of another man.

  He had found it difficult to accept her story that he was a friend of her mother’s—the woman lived a solitary lifestyle. He had been deeply suspicious at the time, but had nevertheless given her the benefit of the doubt. Even apologising for questioning her.

  It hurt to think that he had been so wrong. He truly had thought Kara was different. Damn it, he had been going to ask her to marry him. She had got beneath his skin in a way he had never expected—or even wanted.

  And now this! What was it about him that made women think he was an easy target? The Melanie incident had made him wary, and he had stuck to his guns all these years. So why had he let his guard down now? Why had he let Kara creep into his life and into his heart?

  She was looking at him now as though she wished that she had never asked. As well she might! Every vestige of colour had left her face. He wanted to tell her to go, to get out of his life. His disappointment was a hard and bitter pill to swallow.

  ‘And that cause would be …?’ he asked grimly, hoping against hope that he had once again jumped to the wrong conclusion.

  ‘I can’t tell you Blake.’ Kara hung her head, her devastating shame complete.

  ‘You cannot? Or you do not want to?’ He let his eyes rest on her face for several long seconds, and when there was no answer, when she refused to look him in the eye, when she looked miserably down at her feet instead, he said grimly, ‘Let me tell you what I think, Kara. I think you are trying to play me for a fool. I think you are using the baby you are carrying for financial gain. I think you are trying to trick me as Melanie once tried, and—’

  ‘How dare you?’ Fire immediately lit Kara’s eyes, and she flashed them into his face. ‘I would never do a thing like that. This is your baby and you’d better believe it. Forget about the money, Blake. I can see that it was a mistake asking for your help.’

  He looked into her face, seeing a mixture of both anger and despair, and for some reason it created deep unease inside him. What he should be doing was kicking her out of his life. Instead he found himself making a proposition.

  ‘I will give you the money—but on one condition. You move in with me permanently.’ He might be crazy suggesting it, but he could not easily dismiss her. Despite his disappointment that she had tried to make money out of this situation, she had got beneath his skin in a way none of the others had. Blake was convinced there was something else going on here, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it. Why did she want so much money? There was only one way to find out, and that was to keep her as close to him as possible.

  ‘Move in with you?’ For just a moment hope bloomed in Kara’s chest. Hadn’t she wanted this all along? To live with Blake? To have a future with him? But as
she looked at the coldness in his eyes now she saw that he was not offering her a future. He was offering her a prison. He would own her in return for the money. Would men always be in control of her life? First her father, then the loan shark and now Blake. If she accepted Blake’s offer of the money she might be free of one shackle around her neck, but she would simply be replacing it with another one. She knew what her answer must be. ‘I can’t do that, Blake.’

  Blake thought for a moment. Her answer had confused him. If she moved in with him then she would be given exactly the kind of lifestyle she wanted—one far removed from the life she had now. So why was she turning his offer down? Did she need the money for another purpose than funding her lifestyle? What was she keeping from him?

  He couldn’t help wondering whether her mother was in on the act too. The moment the thought entered his mind he put it into words. ‘Does your mother know about this request for money? Is she a part of this let’s see what we can get out of Blake plan?’ And the way Kara flinched, the way she averted her eyes, looking anywhere but at him, the way hot colour came rushing back into her face, told him exactly what he wanted to know.

  Disappointment flooded him in cruel waves. He felt as though someone had taken a knife to his heart and sliced it in two. The once innocent Kara, his PA who had served him in a quietly efficient way, had turned into a carbon copy of every other woman he had dated.

  If it wasn’t for the fact that she was carrying his baby he would send her packing right here and now. He might be many things but he wasn’t cruel enough to do that. He would tell her, though, that she would not get a penny more out of him than was necessary for the upbringing of his child—not until he found out exactly why she wanted so much money.

  ‘I’m sorry I asked.’ Kara had never felt so humiliated in her life. The look in Blake’s eyes made her want to turn and run and never see him again. She had known all along that it would be a bad idea asking him for money, but foolishly she had never expected it to turn out like this. She had naively hoped that Blake would simply hand over the cash, no questions asked. But this was Blake Benedict, businessman extraordinaire! Once again Kara realised how badly she had misjudged his feelings towards her.

  ‘And I am sorry you asked too,’ he said, the quietness in his voice more deadly than when he had raised it. ‘Shall we start work?’

  Kara would have liked nothing more than to turn around and run. She had demeaned herself for nothing. She wanted to walk out of the office and never see Blake again. But that would mean losing her job, and she could ill afford that—especially now. She was not sure, though, how she was going to get through the rest of the day. At least it was Friday, so she would have the weekend to come to terms with her humiliation.

  The atmosphere between them was decidedly icy, and it was a relief when Blake was called away early.

  When she got home and told her mother that he had refused to lend them the money, deliberately omitting the fact that he had suggested she move in with him, Lynne broke down in tears. ‘What are we going to do now?’

  Fearing for her parent’s health, Kara put her arms around her and held her close. ‘We’re going to forget about it for the time being. I’ll make us a nice cup of tea, and we’ll watch TV and push Blake and the loan shark and everyone else right out of our minds.’

  It was easier said than done, but at least Lynne calmed down, and on Saturday Kara suggested some retail therapy. ‘Even if we only window shop,’ she added, ‘it will do you good to get out of the house.’

  They had a good day—Kara even managed to forget about Blake. She had spent the whole night tossing and turning, reliving her humiliation at his expense. Deep down inside she knew she couldn’t blame him for refusing her the money, since she hadn’t told him the truth about what it was for. It was ridiculous to have expected him to believe that it was all for the baby.

  But her mother’s sanity meant more to her than anything else. Lynne was a very private woman who kept herself very much to herself. She had always hidden from her neighbours the way her husband treated both her and her daughter, and over the years they had learned not to ask questions.

  And so Kara felt that it was only right that she respect her mother’s privacy, even though it had made it hard asking Blake for help. She could still feel the deep humiliation. She had wanted to turn tail and run and never see him again. What they would do when she finally had to leave work because of the baby Kara did not know—how would she ever repay the debt then? But she refused to think about it. Her main concern was her mother, and for her sake she needed to keep bright and cheerful.

  Except ‘bright and cheerful’ flew out of the window when the loan shark decided to pay them yet another visit. They’d had a good day at the shops, even buying only the very cheapest of baby clothes had lifted their spirits and they had been in a good mood when they arrived home.

  It was early evening when the doorbell rang, and unsuspectingly Kara went to open the door—only to be confronted by the man who held a tight grip over their lives. Quickly Kara stepped outside and closed the door behind her, so that her mother would not know who stood there.

  ‘Do you have the money?’ he growled.

  ‘If you mean can I give you any more than we are already doing, then the answer is no,’ said Kara bravely, even though inside she was quaking with fear. She knew that this man was not averse to using force to get what he wanted. ‘And if you do not stop harassing us I shall call the police.’

  Her brave words had no effect. His top lip rose scornfully, his narrow eyes ugly and condemning. ‘This is a legitimate loan. There is nothing they can do.’

  ‘But you cannot keep upping the payments or threatening us in this way.’ She felt that her protest was in vain, but she had to try something. ‘We can’t pay you money we haven’t got.’

  ‘You’re forgetting the rich boyfriend,’ he jeered, his breath smelling of tobacco and something as unpleasant as the man himself. ‘Don’t think I haven’t seen you with him. What I’m asking for would be a pittance in his eyes. Ask him for it.’

  ‘I can’t do that,’ she declared, surprised to hear her voice still coming out strong and steady when all hell was still breaking out in her body. Her heart was thumping like a mad thing and every pulse stampeded. ‘I refuse to involve someone else in your fraud. The only people I’m prepared to go to are the police.’

  Strong hands gripped her shoulders and he thrust his face up close. ‘I want my money.’

  And she wanted him to leave her alone. She pushed as hard as she could against his chest and he let her go—but not before he had made a further threat. ‘I’ll come back every day until I get what I want. You’d better believe it.’

  ‘And if you do that I will definitely go to the police. You’d better believe that.’

  Not until the door was safely shut behind her did Kara feel safe. She leaned back against it, breathing deeply, forcing herself to calm down before she faced her mother again.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  ASLEEPLESS night had left Blake tired and out of sorts. He could not shut Kara out of his mind. Deep down inside he did not want to believe that she was capable of feathering her own nest at his expense. He couldn’t help wondering whether there was some other reason why she had asked him for such a large amount of money. But what? He paid her a good wage, she and her mother lived comfortably, so why the need for more? It was puzzling in the extreme.

  When Kara had changed from a mouse into a beautiful woman she had delighted him. She had tugged at a corner of his heart. She had almost made it her own. Almost! Thank goodness he hadn’t got to the point of asking her to marry him. Wouldn’t that have been a grave error of judgement? He’d thought he had learned his lesson when Melanie deceived him. Now he realised that he was still vulnerable. And vulnerability meant mistakes.

  Over and over he asked himself the question whether he knew Kara at all. Whether he had ever really got to know her. Discovering her avaricious side was not a pleas
ant thing. It had angered and dismayed him. Nevertheless he felt disquiet about the way he had handled the situation. Maybe he should go and see her, talk to her in her own surroundings, try to find out exactly why she wanted so much money.

  He had been due to go out to dinner with a banker friend, but at the last minute he cancelled, deciding that a visit to Kara was more important. If he left it until tomorrow he would have another night without sleep. He needed to sort this matter out once and for all.

  Even so he felt an unexpected quickening of his senses as he neared her house. Whatever he might think of Kara now, there was no getting away from the fact that she was expecting his baby. It was the hardest thing he had ever had to accept—and it still gave him nightmares. He had never seen himself as a family man—never wanted to be a family man. Which was why he found it hard to believe that it was happening to him now.

  Because he did not want her to see him coming, to give her time to decide what she would say to him, he parked in an adjoining street. But as he rounded the corner he could not believe what he saw. Kara in the arms of that man again!

  His blood began to boil—until he looked more closely and saw that this was no cosy clinch, as he had first imagined. The man was hostile. It looked as though he was actually threatening Kara!

  Blake hastened his step, but before he got close the man let her go, sliding into his car and driving swiftly away. And while he watched the man leave, making a mental note of his number plate, Kara disappeared inside the house.

  He wasn’t going to let this go, though. And he wasn’t going to be satisfied until Kara told him exactly what was going on. He strode along the street and banged on the door. He wasn’t surprised when no one opened it. She was probably scared that the man, whoever he was, had returned.