Shackled Lily (18 page)

“Thanks, but no thanks, Daddy. I’ve had about all I can take.”

He looked at me and shook his head in disbelief before placing his heavy arm around my shoulder. He was a mammoth of a man, and I practically fell over as he used me to stabilize himself on the
steps.

“I’m going to bed, sweetheart,” my father said once we made it into the house. “See you in the morning, seven sharp.” I saluted him with my lip curled in a snarl once I knew his back was to me, and headed up the stairs. I was starting to hate those words.

I turned on my light and practically jumped out of my shoes when I saw Grant slouched over in the sitting area of my room.

“He’s got a son,” Grant said flatly, his head still buried in his hands.

“So I discovered,” I answered, wondering why he seemed so stricken. I took off my shoes, feeling my calves relax as my bare feet hit the ground. “You ok?”

He looked up at me and gave a weary smile. “Yeah, just had that moment of recognition today when someone that once sat high on a pedestal came crashing down.”

“If you are talking about my father, well, I’m surprised it took this long,” I muttered, crossing my arms and throwing him a look that said I told you so.

“You don’t seem that upset about it.”

“Grant, there isn’t much my father can do at this point to surprise me. Trying to set me up with the rich son of a potential business partner is right up his alley. If you recall, he spent years trying to do it with Branson.”

“Issy, Branson’s father had nothing on Mr. Marsh. I also highly doubt his son is anything like Branson. I don’t know. It just seems like everything is working against me.”

Grant stood and looked at me, his eyes showing all the longing that I knew was there for both of us, and seemed to get more powerful each day we stayed “just friends.” I wanted to revolt against his no kiss declaration, so I turned my back to him and glanced over my shoulder. “Do you mind?” I asked eyeing my zipper.

I felt his fingertips move to my neck before pushing my hair to the side. Every nerve ending in my body was ablaze
, and I closed my eyes as his touch seared my skin. I felt the zipper give and then his fingers follow it down my back, leaving a trail of fire in its path. I didn’t want to move, only wanted more of his touch. I felt him move closer to my back, leaning down to run his lips softly over my neck.

“Did you like him?” he asked gently, his voice slowly bringing me back to reality.

I moved away from him before I lost myself completely, my arm across my chest being the only thing to keep the dress from falling at my ankles. “I actually already knew him. Small world, huh?”

I saw Grant’s eye move into a slant. “How well do you know him?”

“Not that well,” I answered with a laugh, only slightly offended by his question. “We have business marketing together. He’s not a bad guy. In fact, I think he has as many Daddy issues as I do.”

“Wow, that’s a nightmare waiting to happen,” Grant teased, his body starting to relax a little.

I threw my shoe at him and he jumped out of the way just in time. “On that note, I’m getting out of here before you permanently hurt me. See you tomorrow, Issy.”

“Night Grant,” I said as he shut the door, and to my delight, the warm feeling swept over me once more.

16
. power couple

I was relieved when I didn’t see Robbie outside of my class on Monday, especially since Jason was being overly affectionate. He had been waiting for me in the seat next to mine and didn’t move, even when Reggie sat down on the other side of me. I kept feeling his hand move to my leg and tickle under my kneecap while the professor droned on about the basics of business.

“Jason, stop it,” I hissed after he had done it a third time. He just grinned, but kept his hands to himself, no doubt satisfied that I finally acknowledged his existence for the first time today. I had hoped that Jason meant what he had said and would back off, but that didn’t seem to be the case. I silently cursed to myself. I had picked Jason for two reasons. One, he was hot. Two, he was a ladies man. There wasn’t supposed to be any attachment. I glanced back at him, noting
how his icy blue eyes locked onto mine, and slouched back in my chair. This was going to get ugly.

Even more confusing was Reggie’s response to me. He barely offered me more than a nod this morning and left class without saying a word. I didn’t know Reggie well, but I’d seen his mannerisms enough to know he was upset with me.

When lunch arrived, the confusion that had clouded me all morning finally disappeared when Rachel grabbed my hand and pulled me into the seat next to her.

“Oh my, Issy. How do you do it? You are officially my new mentor. You broke Rusty’s heart, just when all of us were starting to question if he even liked girls. Then Friday night you had the hot bartender eating out of your hand and now this? Unbelievable.”

The “this” she was referring to was a close up picture on the front of the society section that showed Robbie leaning down to kiss the top of my hand. I looked smitten and charmed by the affection, although I never remembered feeling either of those things when he had kissed me. They must have had a ton of pictures to pick from and just got lucky with this one. The headline read:
POWER COUPLE
, but the caption below was even more nauseating.

“
Watch out, ladies. It looks like Kaitlyn Summers, daughter of Computer Tycoon, Andrew Summers, has landed North Carolina’s most eligible bachelor
.
Have the two most powerful families in North Carolina finally merged? Neither party would comment, but sources close to the couple say they have been seen together on multiple occasions.”

I felt my ears begin to ring a little as the words “Damage Control” slipped in my head. No doubt my father had staged these pictures just to replace the ones of me and Jason.

“Rachel, who all have you shown this to?” I asked, interrupting her battery of questions.

“Everyone. Are you kidding…you’re famous!”

I felt my stomach turn a little as I glanced down at the other end of the table. I excused myself from Rachel and sat down next to Candace who had made very little eye contact with me. Rusty stood up slowly and muttered something about needing to get to class. Reggie left with him, and neither acknowledged me.

I put my head in my hands and shook it. This was exactly what I didn’t want to happen.

“You had quite a weekend, I hear,” Candace said quietly.

I turned my head to look up at her through my hands. “At least one of you is still talking to me,” I blurted, feeling a frustration I couldn’t explain. Truth was, I really did like these guys. They reminded me of Avery, and were the kind of people that cared about others more than themselves.

“Don’t mind them. Rusty’s ego is bruised, and Reggie is his friend. Although, tip for next time. If you tell a guy you’re not into dating, don’t kiss someone else in front of his friends and then show up on the cover of a newspaper with the words power couple. It tends to send the wrong message.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of it all, and Candace soon joined me, until we were wiping tears out of our eyes.

“Issy, I know we haven’t known each other that long, but I feel a kinship with you. So I’m going to tell you this and I want you to hear it.” Candace was being serious now and facing off with me to ensure I was listening. “I’m worried about you, but I’m not going to lecture you. If you ever need me and I mean ever, I’m here. No questions asked. You got that?”

She was so sincere and seemed so confident in what she was saying. I put my head back in my hands and sighed. “No one’s ever truly there for you, Candace, not really. But thanks.”

“Well, maybe not for you, not yet. But I know someone who is there for me whenever I need Him. He has never let me down.”

I chuckled at her serious tone. “What’s Reggie think of your affection for this guy?”

Candace just smiled. “Don’t worry, Reggie knows Him well. I’d love to introduce Him to you some time, too.”

I knew she was talking figuratively, because she had made it no secret that she was a Christian. Not wanting to have this conversation, I threw my hands up in protest. “No way, I’m steering clear of men for a long time.”

Candace started laughing again and then followed me out of the Student Union. “When you’re ready to meet Him, you’ll know.” Then she was off with a wave.

I dreaded going to Shakespeare, but skipping again was not a good idea. The class was too small for me to go unnoticed, and participation was probably all I had to save my grade.

I hadn’t really eaten lunch, so I was thirty minutes early to class. I straddled the concrete wall outside my building while I waited and checked my phone. It was disturbingly sparse. Avery had checked in on me, of course, but my other friends from Winsor were forgetting me. Jake also seemed lost in another world. His internship had turned into a full-fledged job he loved. I got a knot in the pit of my stomach that told me everything was changing, and I didn’t want it to.

I was still looking down at my phone when I saw Jason’s torn up jeans straddle the wall in front of me. I closed my eyes in protest, having no energy for this right now.

“I know we’re not a power couple, green eyes, but
I did figure you would at least talk to me.” Jason’s voice was mild, but there was no question he seemed hurt.

I looked up at him and felt mildly guilty. He’d been nothing outside of perfect to me, letting me have complete control of our relationship, if you would even call it that.

“I’m sorry, Jason. Today’s been kind of a bad day,” I explained, not really telling him anything.

He scooted up closer to me and placed his hand on my thigh. “What do you need from me?” he asked sincerely, looking deep into my eyes, searching. There
was nothing to find; I had deadened them the minute we started talking.

I straightened up, and then sent him a smile that said all was right in the world. “I need you to forget Friday happened and go back to bantering with me just like before, a man on a mission to get that first kiss.”

“I am on a mission, Issy,” he promised and stood up to help me off the wall. “All charm and no drama. I can do that.”

“Thanks,” I replied, relieved to have the conversation over with.

But it wasn’t over with because Jason pulled me around the corner to a secluded alcove in the building and backed me up against the wall. I felt his hands on my face as his icy eyes penetrated mine. “But before I can erase it from my memory completely, I need to know it wasn’t a dream.” Then Jason’s lips consumed me, hungry and desperate. I allowed him the moment, giving him what he needed to let go. But I felt a little more of myself die inside. The numbness was getting easier to recreate…even without the alcohol.

I slammed the repulsive picture of me and Robbie on my father’s desk, not even bothering to knock.

“What is this?” I demanded with my arms folded.

My father chuckled before picking up the paper and leaned back in his chair. “Sweetheart, this is not my doing. Although, this little article did send our stocks soaring today. Trust me, if I was responsible, I’d take credit for it.”

I threw myself down in the chair. Now who was I going to yell at?

“Speaking of Robert Marsh, though, we’ve been invited to their house for dinner tonight.”

“No way. I’m still trying to recover from the last dinner you made me go to.”

My dad stood up, no doubt to intimidate me, and pressed his fingers together. “That wasn’t a request. But, since I don’t want you doing anything to embarrass me tonight, I’ll give you a carrot. You can have a weekend pass to Winsor, assuming tonight goes well.”

I felt anger rock my stomach. “You are bribing me now? What happened to protecting me at all cost, so much so you had to send a chaperone with me last time? Don’t get any ideas, Daddy. I am NOT Robbie Marsh, and I will NOT ‘play my role’ just to get what I want.” I stood to face him defiantly, but my stature compared to his was pretty pathetic.

I watched as the vein in my father’s neck started to pulsate. “You will go to that dinner tonight, Kaitlyn, or so help me, I will make a call and release that empty, over-priced room back to the University.”

I gasped in horror. My apartment, the only place that ever felt like home. It represented my independence, my freedom. I took one look at his face and knew he wasn’t bluffing. This merger was consuming him, changing him more and more into a man I hated.

I stormed out of his office without a word and ran to my room. There was another dress hanging from the armoire, sending a fire of fury down my spine. I threw open my balcony door and screamed at the top of my lungs before collapsing on the deck. I could almost see the shackles on my feet as I wondered if I would ever again be free.

I descended the stairs intentionally five minutes later than my dad requested and found all of them hovering by the door. My dad had classed Anna up tonight, I noted. Her blond hair was swept back into a French twist, and for the first time in years, I didn’t see her panty line through her dress. Junior was there as well, dressed in a suit to match my father’s. I saw his six-year-old eyes look up at my dad as if he was superman.

That was when it hit me. It was the moment it all made sense. My father marrying Anna had nothing to do with my mother or me or even Anna. It had everything to do with Junior. He was given a son, his legacy that he could mold in to a man worthy of his name. I watched as Junior’s little hand reached up to hold my father’s, and I realized that for the first time in seven years, I didn’t hate that little boy. I felt sad for him. He would never be his own man, and just like me, would be forever owned by our father.

My father finally noticed me and scowled. “You’re late.”

“I’m here. Just be t
hankful for that,” I answered back in disgust.

My father led us out the door like one happy family, and I wanted to hurl. His new driver held the door of the limo open for us, and I watched as Junior and Anna got in the car, leaving my father and I alone for a second.

“Nice driver, Daddy. It didn’t take you long,” I noted sarcastically.

“I was losing too much time in the commute,” my dad replied dismissively. I started to get in the car, and felt his hand grip my arm. “Kaitlyn, you will not embarrass me tonight. Do you understand?”

I stiffened under his grasp and pulled at my arm unsuccessfully. “I understand that if you call me Kaitlyn one more time, you will be praying for me to simply embarrass you.” It wasn’t an idle threat. I was dangerously close to the edge, and I could tell my father saw it in my eyes. He let go and didn’t once call me Kaitlyn the entire way to Robbie’s estate.

Robbie was waiting for us outside and greeted my father and Anna appropriately before showing them to the front door. When he got to me, he smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek. It felt like a natural hello, so I didn’t take offense to it.

“I brought these for you,” he said lightly as he opened his palm to show two shiny pennies. His eyes were sparkling again, full of life and vibrancy. I was drawn to it, knowing mine held nothing that matched. I touched the penny and felt the tears sting my eyes. I couldn’t stop it. I turned away from him, fighting to find the shield that was failing me.

“Hey, you ok?” Robbie asked softly, his hand rubbing my back. He walked around to face me, lifting my chin. “Listen, I know that article was a nightmare today. I got it from all sides too. You’re not in this alone, ok? Let’s just get though this dinner and the merger, so maybe one day you and I can have a cup of coffee or something without all this pressure.” With two thumbs he wiped the tears that had spilled over my eyes. He was only the second man I had ever cried in front of. I should have felt terrified, but I didn’t. I felt like he understood.

He held my hand and led me to the fountain that was lit up beautifully against the night sky. I noticed our previous pennies still marred the pristine surface and smiled up at him. “You left them there?” I asked not masking the surprise in my voice.

“Of course, they aren’t moving until you finally get your wish.” He flashed me a genuine smile and then closed his eyes to make the wish. Who was this person? He was the complete opposite of the stiff, possessive guy who had tried unsuccessfully to seduce me with his wealth. Was it possible that I had actually met someone who had as many layers as I did?