Cruel Money (Cruel 1)

“I don’t have boy troubles. I have unemployment troubles.”

“Oh,” Katherine said in surprise. “Well, we can fix that.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t need anyone else’s help finding a job. What I need is icing.”

“Icing?” Katherine asked.

“Never mind.” There was no way that Katherine could understand that particular habit. “I’m just going to go.”

“Well, I don’t think that you should be alone.” She stepped forward to follow me inside.

I wanted to bite her head off for being so presumptuous, but I just didn’t have the energy. “Fine.”

Katherine smiled brightly and then whisked me inside. We took the elevator upstairs. Totle was pleased to see us at least. He kept running around our feet, begging for attention. I finally settled onto the couch with him in my lap under a blanket.

“I cannot believe he just gives that dog the run of the house,” Katherine said. She was true to her word and making me tea.

“Try to stop him. It’s impossible.”

“True. At least he’s cute.” She brought the tea over and set it on the coffee table. Then she went back for her own cup. “It’s good for the soul.”

“I’m usually more of a coffee person.”

“Drastic times,” she said.

I took a sip of the tea and was surprised it was good. Katherine didn’t seem like the kind of person who had to do much for herself.

“Thanks for this,” I said, tucking my legs up underneath me.

“Of course. What are friends for?” She smiled. “So, how are you feeling about all of this?”

I shrugged. “Horrible. Pretty much horrible.”

“Ugh! I could imagine. Penn said that you two had a blow-up fight.”

“Yeah,” I said, taking another sip. “I just kind of lost it. I need to talk to him. Make things right.”

“Natalie…” Katherine said. Her eyes darted to the ground and then back up at me. “I really need to tell you something.”

My stomach dropped at the way she’d said those words. What could she possibly need to tell me?

“Do you?”

“This whole thing with Penn…I really don’t think it’s a good idea.”

My brain froze. Was she really trying to pull this right now?

“Oh, yeah? Why do you think that?”

“He’s just…he’s done this sort of thing before, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“What sort of thing? Dated the help?”

Katherine furrowed her brows. “Well, yeah. I mean, he’s slept with the help before at least. Led them on. But he’s really not what you think he is.”

“Katherine, you should stop. I don’t need to hear this right now.”

“I mean, I hate that all of this started over a silly bet.”

I narrowed my eyes and tilted my head. “A bet? What bet?”

“It was stupid,” she said with a halfhearted laugh. “Penn swore he could get you into bed and make you fall for him. We tried to talk him out of it, but, well…he wants what he wants.”

My mouth went dry. This couldn’t be real. Who actually bet on things? Let alone on whether or not you could sleep with someone? We had already slept together. What kind of prize was that? It didn’t even make sense. That was something dumb jocks did in high school or maybe college. But we were…adults. The whole thing just sounded absurd.

“I’m really sorry. I felt like you should know.”

I finally looked back up at Katherine. Really looked at her. That sad, sympathetic routine. The light in her eyes that didn’t match her expression. Her mouth that tilted just slightly in the corners.

She wasn’t concerned. She wanted me to believe this. She wanted me to fall into her trap.

What had Lewis said? If Katherine knew we were dating, she would do anything to keep us apart. She would be worse, so much worse.

Had she been hiding her true character? Was this the depth of her deceit?

“I don’t believe you,” I said, my voice low and even.

“Natalie, it’s true!” she gasped.

“You would do anything to keep us apart,” I spat in her direction. “Anything. You are clearly in love with Penn and cannot stand the fact that he would pick me, a nobody, over you. Well, your lies are not going to change my mind about him.”

“I swear. It’s true. If you don’t ask Penn, then ask the rest of the crew. They were there that night. They’ll tell you it’s true.”

Suddenly, I couldn’t hold back any longer. I was laughing. A manic laugh. This was not real. This was not real life.

“Get out,” I told her.

“Natalie…”

“I said, get out!” I yelled at her. “I don’t want to hear another word out of your mouth. You aren’t my friend. You aren’t Penn’s friend. You’re a leech, a disease, a fake, and a fraud.”

Katherine straightened. “We’ll see about that.”

When she left, I collapsed back into the couch. My breathing was uneven. My fury returning in force. A bet? Was she out of her mind? Was that the best that she could do?