Cruel Money (Cruel 1)

“I think I did.” He nodded at us both and then left us alone.

“So, what really happened?” Penn asked, his voice lowering in concern.

“I said, I don’t want to talk about it. You know what? I’m just leaving.”

“Fine. I’ll take you back to my place.”

“Don’t you need to stay?”

Penn arched his eyebrow. “What part of this party made you think I wanted to be here for anything other than you?”

I snapped my mouth closed, speechless. That was not what I’d thought he would say.

“Me?”

He nodded. “I hate galas, but I came to this one to spend time with you. And then Katherine stole you the entire time. So, I would be happy to get out of here with you.”

I didn’t have anything to say to that. It was…romantic. I’d sworn I wouldn’t go down that road with him again. And still, my insides squirmed at the attention. I loved that he was ready to leave the party with me. And the look of concern on his face. And all the things that I shouldn’t care about. Including the uncontrollable jealousy I’d felt when I realized that he and Katherine had been…or maybe currently were an item. Going home with him would be against everything we’d worked toward.

But I found myself nodding anyway.

Then we were out of the building and into a waiting cab, headed toward his place.

Silence stretched between us. A silence that was tense. I’d never experienced this from him before. In Paris, we had conversed so effortlessly that it had been my undoing. The last couple of weeks of silence had been noticeable but easy. As if he had always been meant to be there. The conversations we’d had since we started talking again were like Paris all over again.

Now, we were huddled together in the back of a cab without a word to say to the other. And dozens trapped just under the surface. Pride and years of pent-up anger holding them in place.

I tried to ignore whatever was coursing between us as I slid out of the cab and took the elevator up to the top floor of his building. The elevator ride was a silent battle of wills to see who would crack first.

What I’d heard tonight from Camden and Addie warred with what Penn had said at the end of the night. Perhaps I was overreacting about it all, but mostly, I was confused. I didn’t know what was true or if I should even care. Let alone what I felt for Penn. The person he had been versus the person he was now versus the picture others had painted. Somewhere in it all was the truth.

“Are you going to tell me why you’re so upset?” Penn asked once the elevator closed behind us and he’d gotten Totle from the bedroom.

“I’m not upset.” Totle ran around my feet, and I hoisted him into my arms until he calmed down.

Penn just raised an eyebrow.

“I’m confused. I don’t know…who you are. I don’t know who any of you are or what you want with me.”

“What we want with you? Why would we want something from you?”

I shook my head and turned away. “I’m either a charity case or project or something. Either way, I just want to know where I stand. I don’t want to be forced into another situation where you guys have to lie about who I am or what I do.” I whipped back around. “I’m not ashamed about what I do for a living.”

“You shouldn’t be ashamed.”

“Then why lie?”

“It had nothing to do with your job and everything to do with Thomas and Camden. We hate Camden, and Lewis and I aren’t particularly fond of Thomas. They both look down on everyone they consider beneath them.”

“So, I’m beneath them?” I set Totle on the floor and strode away from Penn. His apartment was incredible, but I could hardly enjoy it as my anger intensified.

“I didn’t say I thought so,” he said carefully, following me.

“Well, what is it then? Am I a charity case? Katherine’s project? Where do we stand?”

Penn slid his hands into his pockets and observed me evenly. “You are none of those things to me. I enjoy your company. I would like to continue to enjoy it.”

“Who is Katherine’s father?”

Penn’s eyes widened and then quickly recovered. “Why?”

“I want to know.”

“That’s a very specific question. Why do you ask?”

I didn’t know. I hadn’t planned to ask. I didn’t know if Addie had been manipulating me as much as she claimed everyone else was. But I couldn’t stop wondering.

“Just tell me, Penn.”

“Fine. Katherine’s father is in jail. His name is Broderick Van Pelt.”

“Wait…what?”

“He’s in jail for fraud. They lost everything when he went under. The only thing the government couldn’t touch was her trust fund and her apartment.”

“Wow.”

“And that’s why she’s with Camden. None of us really like him, but he has the money, and she has her name. Together, they look good on paper. But he’s horrible.”