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‘You actually want me not just to entertain but actually seduce some random stranger,’ Kim repeated hotly, her eyes wide.
‘He’s not a random stranger; you’ve already met Spencer Andrews. You just haven’t had a chance to spend a whole lot of time with him, that’s all. That’s what this is about. A summer in England, all expenses paid, to spend quality time with Spencer – and Lord and Lady Andrews, of course.’
‘Seriously?’ Kim’s horrified gaze shifted to her father. ‘Dad, do you understand what you guys are actually asking of me?’
‘It’s not much what we’re asking, and it’s a potentially advantageous move for you, too.’ Peter levelled his gaze on her. ‘We have paved a great path for you in life, Kimberley. We’ve always given you everything you could want – definitely more than most. Now it’s your turn to make a move that could affect your future and ours, too, of course.’ He spoke as if he were giving her a choice, whereas Kim knew better. ‘And, honey, you know like your mom pointed out, you’re really not getting any younger. That pretty face won’t last forever.’
Kim was floored, not to mention wounded to the core. In all her life she’d never been made to feel like nothing more than a piece of ass. And by her own father!
Whenever she did take his business prospects out on the town to show them a good time, she never just left it at that. Instead she talked to them about their hopes and intentions, teased out their strategies, and subtly influenced them to choose Weston Inc.
She’d thought her father knew this and quietly appreciated it. But he hadn’t even noticed.
‘You actually expect me to do this? You actually expect me to coldly pursue a guy I barely know? With marriage as the endgame? I’ve never even been in a proper relationship with someone I like, so why would I want to be involved with someone I don’t?’
She was trying her best to contain her anger and dismay. This was like something from a horror movie, playing out before her eyes. People didn’t do this in real life. They didn’t just pimp out their daughters as part of a freakin’ … business move!
But Kim realised, it was basically what her folks had always done. Except this time they wanted her to go a step further and actually try to land this English guy as a potential husband, taking her off their hands in the process.
‘Dad,’ she pleaded softly. ‘Please, don’t ask me to do this.’
‘Kim, don’t act like a child,’ Gloria tsked. ‘Do you think the life this family has comes free of cost? There’s a price and we all have to pay it. Your father paid it. I paid it. Now it’s your turn. You can’t expect us to bankroll you forever. It’s high time you had a plan for the rest of your life and we think this is the perfect start.’
Why had she thought her father would help her? He never had before. Whatever her mother wanted she got. It was clear that what Gloria wanted now was a familial connection with some kind of gentry and her father the backing of this English bigwig’s multi-billion company.
Capitalism at its finest. A merger of the purest kind and all it would cost was Kim’s sanity.
Her heart sank. They were asking her to offer herself up for their futures. It wasn’t about her. It was about them. It was always about them. She gritted her teeth.
‘I’m not doing it,’ she told them, her chin lifting. It was pointless, she knew, but she wasn’t going to just go along with something this crazy without a fight. ‘And you have no right to ask—’
‘It’s not a request, Kimberley.’ Gloria’s tone brooked no nonsense. ‘Everything’s already arranged.’
‘Well, you can just go and rearrange it then, because I’m not doing it. I’m not throwing away my life – my entire future – for one of your business deals. And it’s disgusting that you’d even consider—’
‘Maybe you might like to suggest an alternative career plan then?’ her mother interjected, her voice dripping with sarcasm. ‘Because lazing around in bed till midday doesn’t seem like much of a go-getter strategy to me.’
‘You seem to have forgotten that I was working late last night – with Dad’s clients. Seriously, is that all I am to you two? Some built-in entertainment manager for Weston Inc.? I’m your daughter, for chrissakes! What about some consideration for my needs?’
Gloria harrumphed. ‘Your father and I have always ensured that your needs are more than catered for – with your expense accounts, generous salary and pretty much everything you could ever want.’
‘Except love …’ Kim replied in a small voice. ‘And respect for what I might want or need.’
‘Honey, think about it,’ her father began, his tone softening, and she was hopeful that her words had finally got through and appealed to his better nature. ‘This is a solid plan. You’re always saying you’re bored of New York, so it’s an ideal opportunity, to get out and explore new horizons. London is a great city – a summer there could well be exactly what you need.’
‘A summer there sounds fine, Dad; it’s what I’m expected to do while there that makes me sick.’ She stood up. ‘You know what? I’m not doing this anymore. I’ve had enough of being a pawn in this family. I’ll move out, get my own place, find a job where someone appreciates my actual talent and skills …’
‘Find your own place – here in Manhattan? How on earth will you afford that?’ Gloria gave a mirthless laugh. ‘I think you seriously overestimate those skills and talents if you expect to just randomly waltz into a job that pays the same kind of salary your father does.’
The realisation stopped Kim in her tracks. Her mother was right. She was damned if she did and damned if she didn’t. She couldn’t make it on her own. She didn’t even know where to start. She was just a puppet and her folks held the strings; they always had.
Check. Mate.
As always, Kim was outplayed.
‘When did you want me to leave for England?’ she asked, defeated.
‘Two weeks, when your father and I head to the Hamptons. I told you she’d make the right decision in the end,’ her mother commented snidely as she turned to her father. ‘Our daughter will always choose the easy life.’
Peter didn’t answer. Instead, he got to his feet.
‘I need a coffee,’ he commented absently as he left the room. That was it. Kim’s dad had basically just whored out his only daughter, and all he could say was he needed coffee.
Tears filled her eyes as she stood up and headed for the door.
‘I’ll let the Andrews know to expect you,’ her mother said to her back as Kim left. ‘You’ve made a very wise choice this time, Kimberley. Very wise indeed.’
Chapter 3 (#ulink_0614eb28-3955-56ec-923f-8abfaca0c328)
That night, as Kim and her friend Natasha made their way from club to club in Manhattan, she drank herself into oblivion, trying to put the disgusting sordidness of her parents’ request – no, demand – out of her mind.
Part of her hoped that she’d just wander out on the street and have a cab driver end her misery for her. She was too cowardly to do it herself.
Had she really acquiesced to this? Agreed to barter herself for her family in order to secure a future for herself?
‘Hey, slow down – we’re not eighteen anymore,’ Natasha encouraged, but Kim was hearing none of it.
‘I’m fine,’ she slurred as she pushed her way again towards the bar.
‘I think you’ve had enough, actually,’ her friend interjected as she attempted to get in her way. But Kim could be persistent and with the level of alcohol that now coursed through her veins, she felt unstoppable.
‘Bartender!’ she yelled as she slapped the top of the electric green counter.
‘Seriously,’ Natasha insisted, grabbing her wrist, ‘you’ll break your hand the way you’re hitting that.’
‘So what,’ Kim snapped as she yanked it away. ‘What difference does it make? The Andrews will just get a slightly bruised whore for a daughter-in-law.’
Daughter-in-law … The word disgusted her and the notion of charming some guy into marriage made her want to throw up.
‘Hey! Vodka,’ she shouted as she raised her glass above her head and waved frantically at the bartender. The guy, who knew Kim well, hustled over and grabbed the empty glass from her hand.
‘Another one, princess?’ He smirked. Normally Kim wouldn’t have entertained his flirtations but today was different. ‘You sure?’
‘Hey, if you’re pouring then I’m drinking,’ she teased, leaning across the bar, practically falling over it, and kissing him.
‘OK, enough,’ Natasha stated as she grabbed Kim by the hem of her skirt and heaved her backwards. ‘What the hell are you doing?’
‘My thing,’ Kim spat. ‘What I do best. Make guys like me,’ she drawled drunkenly.
Kim could see the look of disgust and annoyance in her friend’s face but it was nothing compared to the feeling in her heart. Natasha would never know how she felt. She’d never know the betrayal, the hurt, and despair that Kim felt right then. Her life was over when it had never really begun. How could anyone call what she did living when every moment was for someone else, never herself?
And now she was about to cross a line over which she could never return.
Once she set foot on that plane and traversed the ocean, any hope of a normal life would be over. From what she remembered of them, the Andrews were stuffy and pretentious, and Spencer was the most anal guy she’d ever met. Seduce him? That bit would be easy. But marry him? That was a whole other prospect.
She grabbed the vodka bottle from the bartender, and downed the remaining contents in one go. Clear liquid burned every inch of its way down as she hissed her approval.
‘That’s what I’m talkin’ about.’
‘For crying out loud,’ Natasha sighed.
‘What?’ she snapped involuntarily.
Her friend cocked her head at her accusingly. Kim knew what that meant. She took a deep breath and sighed. She was acting out, behaving like a bratty teen. No wonder her parents wanted to marry her off.
‘Sorry,’ she apologised.
Natasha shook her head sympathetically. ‘It’s OK. I know you’ve got a lot going on right now. But this…’ she indicated the bottle and Kim’s ragged appearance, ‘this isn’t you.’
Her friend was right. This wasn’t her. She tried to refocus, get herself back in the game, but all she could think of was the upcoming trip to England and the horrific scenario it presented.
Natasha slapped her hand across the bar. ‘So what’re you going to do about it?’
Kim’s head snapped up, her wide green eyes piercing her friend’s dark gaze. ‘What can I do? It’s all decided and I agreed. Case closed.’ Feeling dizzy now from the effects of the vodka, she stumbled against the bar a little. ‘I’m outta here.’
She stumbled erratically through the crowds, her short skirt and skimpy top gaining the attention of most of the guys she passed, but she didn’t pay attention. Her eyes were solely focused on the exit. She could hear Natasha following her but she didn’t look back.
The moment they stepped outside, her friend grabbed Kim’s arm and turned her around. ‘Oh, come on, quit the “poor me” act. The Kim Weston I know doesn’t just give in. So what – now you’ve decided to just turn into a wet mop and do what they want?’
‘What does it matter?’ Kim spat. ‘Everything stays the same. They always get what they want. So why bother fighting?’
‘You’re always saying that one day you’ll finally stop letting them win and take a hold of your own life. This could be the day.’
‘Easy for you to say. Your folks are great. They don’t pressure you. They let you find your own way and just be there for you if you need them. They love you. My parents only bother with me when they need to whore me out.’
‘Seriously?’ Natasha rolled her eyes. ‘Kim, you’re nearly thirty years old. No one is stopping you from having the life you want. You’re just scared to actually go out and get it. You find excuse after excuse for why you can’t walk away from your parents, and this “woe is me” attitude, but the truth is you’re afraid to let go of the trappings that Mommy and Daddy’s cash can buy.’
The words were a fist to the gut. ‘So what if I am? You mean to tell me you wouldn’t be scared if having what you want meant giving up everything you already have, your entire way of life?’
‘Of course,’ Natasha answered. ‘I’d be terrified. We can’t pretend that we haven’t had an easy time. We’ve always had everything we’ve ever wanted. The best that money can buy. People kill for the types of lives we were born into.’
Her words weren’t helping Kim feel any better. ‘So what’s all this talk about me being scared?’
‘I’m saying it because there comes a time when you need to decide if what you want from life is more important than the trappings you’d forfeit for that freedom. Does having everything handed to you beat the ability to make your own choices? If it does, then go to England, Kim. Make Spencer what’s-his-name fall head over heels for you. Get married, have two point five children, smile for the Christmas card photos and make your parents happy, while you – Kim Weston – are dying inside.’
She could see the exact image in her mind as Natasha described it and it made her nauseous.
‘Or,’ her friend continued, ‘take a bold step. Do something crazy and different and unexpected, and see where it takes you.’
‘Like what?’
‘I don’t know. Something no one would see coming, not even you. This may be your last chance, Kim. Take it. Before you commit your life to misery, take a chance that maybe there is something more out there for you. Maybe getting the life you want isn’t so scary. I’ll help you.’
‘How?’
‘I don’t know. It depends on what you want to do.’
‘I don’t know what that is either,’ Kim answered with exasperation. ‘I just want to escape from all this.’
Natasha’s eyes lit up. ‘They why the hell don’t you?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, why don’t you escape? Here in New York your folks’ shadow is always looming over you. Why don’t you go somewhere they can’t influence you?’
The prospect was intriguing. ‘Like where?’
A smile spread across her friend’s tanned features and Kim’s stomach began to knot. Was she really considering this? Yes, she was.
‘Come on, let’s head back to my place and sober you up a little first,’ she stated as she took Kim by the hand and went to hail a taxi. ‘Party Girl Kim is done.’
Chapter 4 (#ulink_cadd31b7-e3eb-5b33-b2b3-b2400d6208a0)
Natasha had her own Midtown apartment in the heart of everything. She was lucky, she got to live on her own but her parents still paid for it, so she had all of the freedom without the worry of bills and rent.
Kim often envied Natasha’s situation, and she told her that. They’d been friends since middle school and had few secrets between them, but the distance in their lives was widening the older they got.
Tash couldn’t understand what Kim went through, no matter how much she tried. She always had ideas to save her and simple solutions to whatever problem Kim faced, but it was easy to find an out when your feelings weren’t in the mix, and your heart wasn’t being torn by the choices you faced.
It was easy to rip a bandage off when you didn’t have to feel the pain of the removal or bleed once it was done.
Now, the pair settled onto the couch as Natasha turned on her Dell and typed in her password. Kim nipped to the bathroom, pulled her blonde curls back in a scrunchie she had in her bag, and went to splash her face with water.
She wasn’t that drunk; the act back at the bar was mostly borne out of despair, and more than that, Natasha’s suggestion had sobered her up and got her thinking.
‘So what are we doing?’ she asked, coming back into the living room.
‘We,’ her friend answered as she pulled up a search engine, ‘are going to find you the perfect escape, Kim Weston. So what are you feeling? Someplace down south maybe? I hear Miami is fun.’
‘Too humid in summer,’ Kim answered.
‘California?’
‘We go there all the time.’
‘Hawaii then?’ Natasha suggested as she turned to her. ‘You could surf or climb a volcano.’
Kim didn’t share her enthusiasm. ‘How about someplace I haven’t been? Somewhere new?’
