Never Got Over You

“Sir?”

“Is there any reason why you told Grant to wait in the library while you thought about his proposal?”

“I already gave him my answer.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “It’s a no for me.”

“Well, if it was just about you, that answer would be acceptable.” My mother’s smile slipped. “This is about our family.”

“Dad,” I said, looking at him, “Can you please tell Grant it’s a no? Maybe he’ll actually accept it from you.”

“My father’s smile fell next and the small warmth in his eyes slowly gave way to coldness.

“Have a seat, Kate.” He pointed to the white tea table. “Let’s talk about why you’ll be telling Mr. Harrison that you accept his proposal by the end of the evening.”

I didn’t make a move to sit. I simply crossed my arms.

“Your father told you to sit, Kate,” my mother said, as she moved into a chair. “Sit down now.”

“I’d rather stand.”

“Fine.” My father held up his hand and took a seat for himself. “We know that it may be a bit early to consider marriage, since your relationship with Grant is new, but?”

“We do not have a newfound relationship.” I interrupted him. “I hate him just as much now as I did when we first met.”

“We also understand that it’s hard for you to see what an amazing opportunity this is.” He spoke as if he’d never heard my words. “The Kensington and Harrison families merging would mean a lot for our businesses.”

“Then it sounds like you need to draw up a different type of contract with Grant, if you want to deal with his father’s business.” I shrugged. “This has nothing to do with me.”

“This has everything to do with you, you ungrateful?” My mother sucked in a breath before she could finish that sentence. “Have you not noticed the small changes that have been happening around the estate lately? The staff working fewer hours? No more daily turn-down service in the bedrooms? Not a single guest for months?”

I didn’t answer. I hadn’t noticed that at all.

“I was days away from filing for bankruptcy, Kate,” my father said, looking more vulnerable than I’d ever seen him. “We were about to prepare layoffs and write the embarrassing announcement in the press for next month.”

“He was going to allow ‘the regulars’ to tour my garden to bring in extra income, Kate.” My mother looked horrified. “That’s how close to desperation we were. I was about to have to have a part-time job.” She leaned on my father’s shoulder, and he ran his fingers through her hair.

“Then Mr. Harrison showed up to ask for your hand in marriage, and I realized that there would be no need for layoffs or embarrassing announcements. That our families uniting would provide us with one hell of a business arrangement, and we’ll ensure that the prenuptial agreement allows you a certain amount of capital. We’ll also …”

The rest of his words came through muted. I could no longer hear. All I could do was see the greed and excitement in his and my mother’s eyes. All I could feel was the pain in my chest.

When his lips finally stopped moving, I let out a breath.

“Can’t you just use my inheritance?” I asked. “I mean, you’ve clearly decided I’m not getting it on time since I’ve been twenty-one for a few months now, so surely that’s enough to get you by while you come up with something else. Something that’s not so damn demeaning to me.”

“Watch your mouth, Kate.” My mother narrowed her eyes. “We’ve already used your inheritance to continue paying the house and grounds staff. When you marry Grant, we’ll quickly reload the account and award it to you in installments.”

“You spent all of my inheritance?”

“You’re saying ‘all’ like it was actually a lot.” She shook head. “It was a couple million. We’ll easily get it back if you listen.”

I sank into a chair, in utter disbelief. “There’s none of the thirteen million dollars left?”

“We need you to focus, Kate.” My father ignored my question. “We need you to do this for the family, understand?”

I said nothing.

They’d officially lost their goddamn minds.

They talked to me for two more excruciating hours, followed me to my room and fought with me for more.

The moment they left me alone, I texted James.

Of course, he didn’t answer, so I called him every hour, on the hour.

I booked a flight to see him, but something told me to do my due diligence before showing up to his apartment while he was overseas.

I called the admissions department at The Wharton School of Business, got put on hold for half an hour. When they finally transferred me to the right person, I nearly had a heart attack.

“Miss, we’ve never enrolled a James Garrett into our program. Are you sure he goes to this school?”