Chapter Thirty-Seven
Kayla
"You look incredible, as always," the C.E.O. of Revving Engines Bikes Nathan Diehl greeted me with a smile. He looked handsome in a dark blue suit with a matching tie, and his blond hair was slicked back.
"Thank you, but I feel a bit under-dressed," I blushed. They had me wearing a sexy, black bathing suit, with high cut sides and a plunging neckline that went all way to my navel. It made me feel conspicuous in a room filled with people wearing suits and dresses. My blonde hair had been curled into sexy spirals and my makeup had been done heavily, with black eye-liner and red lips. I didn't feel anything like myself, and the whole situation had me feeling uncomfortable. To make matters worse, Jay Wendt, the director of marketing, suddenly approached.
"We'd like to have you standing over here by our newest bike, the Road Rage. Guys are sure to want to approach you, and when they do, our sales team will be able to intercede and talk them into buying one," Jay said, guiding me to the corner of the room where several bikes stood, looking shiny and new.
"And why am in a swimsuit instead of a dress?" I asked, wishing I could cover myself up.
"We've hired a photographer to take pictures of you with the guests. We thought having you in a swimsuit would make for a better shot. Guys will love it and it fits in better with the bad boy image we're giving the bike."
I wasn't wild about the direction the marketing campaign was taking, but I'd signed a contract and the money was good, so what could I do?
Silently, I took my place, smiling broadly in my swimsuit and stilettos as sweaty men in business suits lined up to get their picture with me and were then assaulted by salesmen eager to make a commission.
It was a miserable way to spend an evening, and I found myself wishing Ethan were there. At least his marketing parties had been fun and him and his entire staff had treated me with dignity. Here, I just felt like a piece of meat.
Suddenly, there was a ruckus at the door, and I turned to see Ethan storming into the room, as if in answer to my wish.
"Kayla! Grab your clothes. I'm taking you the hell out of here!" he called out when he saw me, and the dream-come-true quickly turned into a nightmare.
"What are you doing here?" I gasped, even though I was relieved to see him.
"No, that's my question. How could you take a job working for R.E.B.?"
"What are you talking about? It's a free country. I can work for whoever I want." I was suddenly defending the job I hated.
"Yeah, but you know they're my worst competitor. You shouldn't have agreed to work for them," Ethan fumed, and I could see the betrayal in his rage-filled face. Still, I stood my ground and refused to back down.
"They were the ones offering me the job. I'd finished working for Speed Motorcycles and R.E.B. made me the best offer, so I took it. You can't tell me you wouldn't do the same."
"Yes, I could. Nathan Diehl is a hack, making cheap knock-offs of other designers’ quality bikes, and Jay Wendt is a sleaze and a womanizer. He would have raped you a few weeks ago if I hadn't shown up to stop him."
"I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself. I had Jay handled perfectly fine on my own, even without you, and he hasn't given me an ounce of trouble since. And, if Mr. Diehl is such a bad businessman, why is that he's got you sweating so bad. Obviously, he's good enough at what he does to be number two in the industry. Why don't you admit what's really bothering you?"
"What's that?"
"You don't like it that I'm an independent woman with my own career. You like to be in control and to hold all the power. You have that at work and at home, but you don't have it with my career, and that drives you crazy.
“Well, fuck you, Ethan Colson. When it comes to modeling, I'll do whatever I want. If you don't like it that I'm working for the competition, then you should have Speed Motorcycles make me a better offer. Until then, I'm staying here."
"The hell you are. You're staying at home where you belong. I committed to you and you committed to me, and that means I'm the head of our household and I call the shots."
"What is this, the turn of the century? Being committed to each other means we're equals in our relationship," I insisted, but Ethan shot me a look of pure maliciousness.
"Oh really? And what part of being equals makes it okay for you to insist that I'm open and honest about everything while you keep secrets and do things behind my back?"
There was nothing I could say in response, and my eyes cast down at the floor. Ethan pressed his advantage, shouting out angrily, "You knew it was wrong to take this job, and that's why you hid it. Working for the competition is a betrayal of me as your equal partner, and doing it behind my back is even worse. It's just a different kind of cheating. How can you justify it?"
"I can't," I admitted, and my confession took all the wind out of him. I approached him and took his strong hands in my own. Blinking back tears, I said, "I needed the money. That's the only reason I did it."
"Well, you don't need the money now. I've got more than enough. Just quit and let's go home."
"I can't quit. I'm under contract with R.E.B., and I'm sure you being here right now is already in violation of it. You'd better go and let me finish the job."
"Fuck their contract. I'll just buy you out of it. Give me a number and I'll write the check right now."
"No, I can't do that. It wouldn't be right. It's my contract, my job, and my career."
"And, you’re my girlfriend. I want you to quit. Let's go. I'll have my lawyer settle everything in the morning."
"No, you don't understand. I don't want you to buy my way out of this. It wouldn't be right."
"Of course, it would. I've got the money; I can afford it. In fact, I can afford anything you want. You'll never have to work again."
"But that's just it. I want to work. I've been trying to be a model for years, ever since I was a teenager. I've worked my ass off to get where I am today, and now that my career is finally taking off, my billionaire boyfriend wants me to throw it all away so I can sit back and take advantage of his money.
“No, forget it. I've worked too hard and I want this too much. One day, I'm going to travel around Europe, modeling for all the biggest brands, and Kayla will be a household name. People will associate me with beauty and glamour and all the best things in life. Me. Little ol' Kayla Brandt, the middle child from the middle of nowhere."
"So, you won't quit and come home with me?"
"No, I won't. I'm sorry, Ethan."
"I thought you loved me. I thought what we had meant something to you."
"I do love you and what we have means so much to me; but my career means something to me, too, and if you loved me like I love you, then you wouldn't ask me to give it up."
"Come home with me, Kayla. Look what they've done to you. They've turned you into a sex object. Quit now and come home with me, or don't come home at all."
"Fine then," I shouted back at him.
I turned on my heel and strode back to the motorcycles with my head held high. Jay and Nathan were both staring with their mouths agape, as was everybody in the crowd. I turned to face Ethan and I could see his face was purple and twisted with rage.
With an alluring smile plastered on my face, I put my arms around the guest standing closest to me, a pudgy man in his sixties, and said, "Smile for the camera. You'd look so sexy on the new Road Rage. Let's get our picture together."'
He grinned stupidly and I planted a kiss on his cheek just as the photographer’s flash went off. When my vision cleared from the light, I saw that Ethan was storming out of the room with his fists clenched. I wanted to go chasing after him, to tell him I was sorry, and to tell him I quit this stupid job and wanted to be his forever — but I didn't.
It took all my effort not to, but held fast to my principles. My career and my name were at stake, not just my pride and independence. I needed to stand firm. If I caved now and allowed my career to be ruled by my boyfriend, I would be setting a dangerous precedent.
Not to mention the fact that if I allowed myself to be a kept woman, living a life of luxury off of someone else's wealth and spending money I hadn't earned, I would hate myself for it. I wouldn't be me anymore. The woman Ethan had fallen in love and committed himself to would no longer exist. In a strange way, the only way to preserve the relationship we had was for me to refuse to go home to the man I loved. So, I drew in a deep breath and resigned myself to a long night at this shitty job.
"That was quite the scene earlier. Are you alright?" Jay Wendt approached me at the end of the evening.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied, being careful to keep as much distance between him and me as I could without being obvious about it.
"Do you need a place to stay tonight? My car is parked right out front." He stepped closer to me, and I moved around the beverage table to create a barrier between us.
"No, I'm fine. I still haven't changed my mind about us. I don't think it would be a good idea for us to..." I couldn't finish the sentence, but I didn't need to.
Jay held up a hand apologetically and said with an embarrassed grin, "I wasn't talking about taking you home with me. I was just offering to drive you to a hotel if you needed a ride."
"Oh." I blushed. "Thanks, but I prefer to take a taxi."
"Okay, but if you need anything, just let me know." Jay put his arm on my shoulder in a sympathetic gesture, but it quickly slid down my back to grab my ass. So, this was what it was going to be like being single again? I'd only broken up with Ethan a few hours ago and slime balls like Jay already thought it was a free pass to hit on me.
I hurried from the hotel and got in a cab.
"Where to?" the driver asked, and I realized that I didn't know how to answer. Where to? I had told Ethan I wouldn't go home to his mansion in Beverly Hills. I'd lost my best friend when she slept with Mick. I couldn't face going home to my family after Ethan had so generously helped Tommy. They'd think I was the most selfish brat on the planet, and I was afraid they'd be right.
What kind of a person chose her modeling career over a great guy like Ethan? One who wasn't willing to give up who she was just for a man, that's who — and one who now didn't have any place to go.
Tears sprang unbidden to my eyes and I reached in my purse for a tissue as the cabby stared at me impatiently. As I blew my nose, I reminded myself that this wasn't the end of the world. Surely, I wasn't the only woman on earth to stand up for herself against Ethan's strength and charm and dump him. That was it. With new confidence, I told the driver where to take me.
It was the middle of the night and all her lights were off when I walked up to her front door and rang the bell. I could hear the sound of yapping dogs on the other side and it was several minutes before lights turned on and I could hear footsteps approaching.
Gwyneth Manzranni opened the door, looking beautiful even with no make-up on and her bathrobe on.
"Kayla, what are you doing here?" She was surprised to see me, but she opened her arms wide to me in a welcoming hug. "Is everything alright?"
I opened my mouth to speak, but all that came out was a wailing sob as I finally released the tears of my heartbreak.