The Devil's Game (2 page)

“I know that your mother was recently sick and lost her job because of it.”

Karina shook her head.

“And now your parents are buried in medical debt and about to lose their house.”

“That is none of your business.”

“This is why you are applying for every scholarship available for graduate school.”

“Why do you even care?” she asked.

“When there is something that I want, I have a talent for exploiting opportunities to get it.”

“And what exactly is it that you want?” she asked, though she suspected she knew the answer.

“Simple. I want you.”

Karina’s breath hitched at his words. “And you’re willing to help my parents out just so I will go on a date with you?”

The corner of his seductive mouth went up ever so slightly. “It would entail a bit more than that.”

“Of course it would,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

“I am willing to pay off all of your parents’ debt,” Karina’s jaw dropped, “if you agree to come live with me for a month.”

“You do realize we’re talking hundreds of thousands?”

Damien didn’t flinch.

“At the conclusion of the month,” he continued, “I will provide you with enough money to finish your schooling.”

This was wrong; Karina knew this was so wrong. She needed to end this conversation right now.

“Why?” she asked instead.

“This is a one-time offer,” he said, again avoiding her question. “I need an answer from you.”

She should say no. This was ridiculous. This man was
crazy.
But, oh god, what if he was serious? This could change everything for her and her parents. It was only a month. Surely she could handle being someone’s plaything for thirty days if it solved all her problems. Even entertaining the thought made her sick to her stomach, though. She looked at Damien, who sat there patiently waiting for her response.

This was a joke. It had to be. Someone—whether it was Damien or some other sick bastard—was messing with her. Although she couldn’t imagine why.

“Fine,” she said as she stood, deciding to call his bluff. “You do everything you just promised, and in return, I will come live with you.”

She walked to the door and held it open for him.

“So we have a deal then?” he asked, standing.

“Sure. As soon as I get confirmation that everything has been settled”—Karina knew this would take months—”I will be all yours for a whole month.”

“I’ll be in touch,” he said, walking out into the hall.

“Looking forward to it,” she said sarcastically.

“You should probably give notice at work,” he said before she could close the door.

“You’re saying I won’t be allowed to work while I’m with you?”

“Well, I live in Miami. I’m only here on business.”

“Miami?”

“Ah, yes, I keep forgetting you don’t know who I am,” he said, extending a hand that she refused to take. “Damien Bishop.” He withdrew the hand. “Take care, Karina,” he said with a nod, then walked away.

She closed the door and dead bolted it. Why, she wasn’t sure, but it made her feel better. Karina needed to look up Damien and figure out who this lunatic was.

“Ginny,” she called out, rushing to the bedroom door, which immediately swung open. “Can I borrow your laptop?” Karina asked.

“Who was that?” Ginny asked, letting Karina into the room.

“I’m not sure,” Karina said as she sat at Ginny’s desk and typed Damien’s name into the search box. “That’s what I want to look up. He said his name was Damien Bishop.”

“Damien Bishop? You don’t mean
the
Damien Bishop, do you?”

Karina swung around in the chair to face Ginny, who was dressed for work, a brush mid-stroke through her long blonde hair.

“I don’t know. Who is Damien Bishop?”

“He’s the billionaire tech guru,” Ginny said, and Karina’s stomach did a somersault.

“Where is he based out of?” Karina asked nervously.

“He has businesses all over the world, but I think his headquarters are in Florida. Miami maybe.”

Karina closed her eyes, but then opened them again.

“What’s he doing up here then?”

“He’s in town for the big expo. Start-ups compete, hoping he’ll invest. It’s a big deal because every company he chooses has gone on to be huge. My bank is one of the event sponsors.” Ginny laid the brush on the dresser and picked up her purse. “So was that
the
Damien?”

“It couldn’t be,” Karina said as she turned back to the computer. One look at the image that had popped up and she knew she was wrong.

“I have to go or I’ll be late,” said Ginny. “But when I get home tonight, you’re going to tell me why he was in our living room.”

“I close again tonight,” Karina muttered.

“Fine, when
you
get home. I’ll have the wine open. Maybe I’ll even save you a glass,” she said with a giggle as she left the room. Karina heard Ginny struggle with the front door, which was still dead bolted. And then she was gone, and Karina sat there, staring at Damien’s picture, cursing the day he had walked into her coffee shop because she was sure there was no way this was going to end well.

Karina got so caught up in researching Damien that she barely made it to work on time again. As she tried to focus, all the facts kept swirling in her head. He was born in Puerto Rico but had spent most of his upbringing in Miami, Florida, which was probably why he kept his primary residence and main offices there. The guy apparently had several of them, including a vacation home in France. When he was nineteen, attending MIT, both parents were killed in a car crash, leaving him a considerable inheritance that he has since vastly improved. He recently celebrated his thirty-first birthday, which made him almost seven years older than her, but had never been married. And judging by all the pictures Karina had clicked through, Damien didn’t have long-term girlfriends. He was never photographed with the same woman twice, and even those photos looked chaste. Nothing to suggest anything intimate going on.

But the scariest information of all—at least as far as Karina was concerned—was the fact that he was worth 1.2 billion dollars. Which meant that a couple hundred thousand was chump change to him.

By the time Karina got home that night, her stomach was in knots, and she was grateful to find that Ginny had received a more enticing offer at a nearby bar. She immediately crawled into bed, where she mostly tossed and turned long after Ginny stumbled home. Would Damien really go through with it? And if he did, would she be able to keep up her end of the bargain?

She cursed her alarm when it went off at five the next morning, but at least she would be able to sneak out for work before Ginny woke. She had no idea what to say to her and dreaded what Ginny might think of her for agreeing—even if it was only because Karina never imagined he could’ve been serious.

As Karina mulled it over at work that day, she realized the solution was simple. When she got home, she would figure out some way to get a hold of Damien and let him know that she had changed her mind. Yes, her parents would lose their house (a heartbreaking thought), but Karina knew they would never want her to sell her self-respect for it. They would’ve been appalled that she had even considered it.

When she got off work, she pulled her phone from her bag to see that she had missed a call from her mom. She listened to the voicemail asking her to call back as she walked out of the shop and toward home.

“Hey Mom, what’s up?” Karina asked as soon as her mom answered.

“The strangest thing happened! Well, I just don’t know what to make of it. I mean, I know your father and I have been praying about it every night, but I never imagined….”

“Mom,” Karina said. “Slow down. What have you been praying about?”

“A courier just stopped by an hour ago, which was so odd. I mean, I didn’t know those still existed, I just thought everybody used FedEx or whatever.”

Karina sighed. It always took her mother forever to explain anything. “What did the courier drop off?”

“Papers saying that the house has been paid off.” Karina stopped dead in her tracks. “I’m holding the deed to the house in my hands right now. Or at least a copy of it. Apparently it’s been filed somewhere for safekeeping.”

“Oh god,” Karina whispered.

“I know, right!” her mother exclaimed. “And that’s not all. There’s even statements in here showing that all the hospital bills have been paid in full.”

Karina stumbled over to some nearby steps and fell down onto them.

“You know what this mean, sweetie, don’t you?” her mom asked.

“Yes,” Karina managed to say.

“It means we aren’t losing the house! You could move back home if you wanted to. You could finally afford to go back to school.”

Her mother was so happy, so
relieved
, and Karina didn’t want to be the one to take that away from her, no matter the cost.

“That’s great news, Mom. I’ll, uh, I’ll have to get back to you about moving back in or not.”

“Okay sweetie. Your dad wants to go celebrate. Talk to you soon. Oh, honey, our prayers have been answered!”

“Yes, Mom, they have.”

Karina hung up the phone knowing that those prayers had been answered because she’d made a deal with the devil.

The Devil Collects

Karina slowly made her way back home, wondering how long it would be before she heard from Damien. (Probably not long, judging by how quickly he took care of the house and bills.) She walked in to find Ginny sprawled out on the couch, a water bottle and bag of chips nearby. Karina saw this as a good sign, as Ginny was never very talkative when she was hungover.

“Someone dropped a package off for you,” Ginny said without even looking up from the TV. “It’s over on the counter.”

The manila envelope stood out ominously against the blue linoleum. Karina imagined it looked just like the one that had been delivered to her parents today. She tore it open and slid out copies of the same documents her mother had received, but this pack had a handwritten note paper-clipped to it.

Karina,

As per your request, here is confirmation that your parents’ debt has been taken care of. I am sending a car at 11 a.m. tomorrow to pick you up; please be ready by then. Only pack the most important items you need for the month, as everything else will be provided for you. I’ve enclosed a check to cover your portion of the following month’s rent.

Damien

The note was cold and professional, and it made her stomach tighten that much more. Tomorrow morning. Less than twenty-four hours until she ran off with this man, this stranger.

She looked at the check made out to Ginny. Virginia A. Redding, to be exact. Karina pulled it from the stack and walked over to the chair Damien had sat in only yesterday.

“This is for you,” she said, handing the check to Ginny.

“What’s this for?” she asked.

“It’s my rent for next month.”

“But why—” Ginny’s eyes went wide. “Holy shit, this check is from Damien Bishop! Why is Damien Bishop giving me a check for your rent?”

Karina took a deep breath. “Because I’m going to be with him for the next month.”

Ginny’s eyes went even wider, and then she smiled, and Karina felt sick.

“Are you sleeping with him?”

Karina shook her head, and Ginny’s forehead wrinkled.

“Then why are you going away with him?”

Karina finally spilled the whole story. When she finished, Ginny looked to be in awe where Karina had expected disgust.

“Wow,” said Ginny. “I’m so jealous.”

“Jealous? Are you kidding me?”

“He just solved all your problems and now you get to spend the next month by his hot, gorgeous side. Of course I’m jealous.”

“But I don’t know the man!”

“You know that he’s rich,” Ginny said. “And built like a Greek god.”

“Do you realize he could be some psychopath? In fact, I’m starting to think that he is. This is not what normal people do!”

Ginny shook her head. “I’d bear it for thirty days.”

“Then maybe you should trade places with me.”

“Gladly.”

Karina remembered Damien’s words to her yesterday morning.
I want you
. She doubted he would accept a substitute. Even a more attractive one, in her opinion.

“I should go pack,” she said, knowing that Ginny would never see it from her side. “Not to mention call the shop and my parents to let them know I won’t be around for a month.”

“Try not to sound so excited about it,” Ginny called out as Karina walked out of the room.

“Fuck you,” Karina called over her shoulder and shut the door.

By that night, Karina had packed all the items she deemed necessary to get through the next month and had made the dreaded phone calls. She told the shop that there had been a family emergency and that she would be out of town for a month. Her boss had been annoyed about the short notice, but even he agreed it would be easy to fill her shifts. Everyone was looking for more hours these days.