Chapter 15

Harper

I watched from the window as long as I could, but eventually, the cleaners had come upstairs and there was no way around it. I had to go outside, so I headed for the guest cottage where I was staying. I hoped no one had noticed. What is wrong with me? I had this crazy feeling I was supposed to be kept under wraps. I felt like a kept woman who wasn’t good enough for the boss to marry, but he’d sleep with her because she was a conquest from the old days he’d finally managed to bed.

Why did I think like that? I knew it was in my head, but it felt more like it was in my veins; a component of my blood making me Type A or B, except that I was a Type S, for slut. I knew one thing for sure—it made me feel like crap.

Other than being without power, the cottage was for the most part exactly as I’d left it. There was some dirt on the window exterior, but one of Brayden’s people had that soon removed. I’d pulled out some garbage bags and was emptying the contents of the refrigerator into them when there was a knock at the door. I opened it to find a pleasant young woman in a pale blue work jumper. Like a fly on honey, she was in my refrigerator, dumping the contents. She washed it thoroughly and, as she left with the bags, she flipped the switch for the ceiling fan over the table. “That way you’ll know when the power is back,” she explained and gave me a pseudo salute as she closed the door behind her.

I went into my bedroom and looked at the array of brightly-colored clothing strewn across my bed. My original plan had been to bring Brayden in and show him what I’d bought. Things had gone another direction, though, so I busied myself hanging up my new things in the closet. I knew, without a doubt, I’d only had to open the door and waggle a finger and someone would have been in my room doing it for me. It seemed that Brayden had the whole world conditioned to respond to a waggled finger. Even me.

I hated myself in this mood. It was like some kind of dark cloud of depression. I seemed determined to see the worst in everything. There I was, in paradise, and I could still find fault. I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to be around me in this mood.

I heard a subtle noise and walked into the next room to see the fan blade circling. The power had come back on. I looked out and saw that this had only heightened the activity outdoors. Like a murder of crows descending on carrion, the disruption disappeared and the entire island was left looking untouched. Another knock at my door brought in the same young woman, except this time she was trailed by several young men with boxes. She opened my refrigerator, restocked it in almost the exact way I’d left it, tapped the brim of her hat and left. Was I living in a movie?

I securely locked my door and headed into my shower. I didn’t want to emerge to find someone vacuuming my floor as I stood by naked and waited for them to finish. My vanity was covered with colors and powders Meghan and I had purchased at the cosmetic counters. I played a bit with the concoction, at least until my hair had dried into its normal confusion of ringlets.

I pulled a one-piece shorts jumper from the closet and layered it over a lilac blue t-shirt. It seemed like a good idea to wear shoes, so I threw on some multi-colored thongs and headed out.

I found Brayden central to the activity. There were men on the roof of the boathouse, hammers wildly beating a progressing rhythm. A coconut palm was lying nearby, neatly chopped into small, manageable chunks that I knew would soon disappear. Even its coconut fruit was piled liked so many cannonballs ready to be fired at the enemy. In Brayden’s case, disorder was his enemy.

He saw me, smiled and came over, lifting me off my feet in a giant bear hug topped with a kiss. “Power’s back on,” he said, setting me down.

“Yes, your little gal who cleaned my refrigerator left the fan on to cue me.”

“I do like efficiency,” he mused as he watched the men on the boathouse.

“Apparently,” I commented dryly and he gave me a startled look.

“Did they disrupt you somehow?” I knew he was being sincere and stored my mockery away in that lonely dark place of my brain where I go when I’m feeling out of place.

I shook my head. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Nope. Just find somewhere to perch and if you see something that needs fixing or clean-up, let one of my people know.”

His people? What is he, like a king or something? What the hell is the matter with me? I’m acting like a royal bitch and this isn’t me, at all.

“Have you talked to Meghan?” I asked, although I already knew his answer. He was a watchful wolf, if nothing else.

“She’s fine and no damage there. Told me she’s met some girls next door and they’re going to watch horror movies tonight. I think she’s lonely, Harper. What do you think?”

“Of course, she is. She’s been stuck out here with her uncle and an old lady who has a highly superstitious mind. She’s at that age when friends are everything. I should know. I was that age once.”

He looked down at me. “Indeed, you were. I seem to remember. And you are just as ripe and luscious now as you were back then. If these people weren’t here… well, I’ll leave that to your imagination.” He smiled and gave me a pat on the butt to push me toward the lounge chairs around the pool.

That’s when I knew what was wrong. I hadn’t been able to put a finger on it until that very moment. He was being too nice and too own-ery. Everything in sight, including me now, belonged to him. He liked control, liked knowing the numbers in each column. I was that last piece he couldn’t have, but now that had been resolved. I was owned!

I hated that feeling! It made me think of my father and how he’d taken it for granted that my mother would never leave him, never desert him. She had paid for the pleasure in his life by donating her own. I’d sworn no man would ever treat me like that and there I was, in the guest house with my license and registration in his glove box. He owned me.

I threw myself onto a lounge chair and crossed my arms over my chest in disgust at myself. That’s when I stopped and looked around. I was being a pain, a real brat. No better than Dougie when he threw a fit. Brayden had worked hard for what he had. He was providing good jobs for a great many people and he had asked nothing of me. I’d given it, freely. In fact, I’d practically put a bow on it and served myself on a platter. How could I fault him for that?

I couldn’t and I knew better. I was embarrassed and looked around to see who might have witnessed my little hissy fit. No one paid attention to me and that was when I had my aha moment.

No one was watching. No one cared. Why not? Because the wealthier you are, the more invisible you become. You can afford to pay people to look the other way. It was sort of like having your gyno exam and knowing that the doctor was not putting moves on you. He looked at pussies all day long! I was nothing more than another pussy!

I felt this enormous sense of relief. It was almost as if an embodied spirit had been trapped inside me and now rose out and above me and then poof! It was gone. I drew in a deep breath and started looking around. I’d clung to the notion that people were watching and judging my entire life. I wanted to be a little naughty, to be get into trouble just a tiny bit. It could be fun. I’d always been held back by the notion that someone wouldn’t approve and there would be hell to pay. I was literally a tight ass!

Armed with my newfound enlightenment, I began to plot how I would exploit this new sense of freedom. My eyes fell on Brayden. Who better to try it out on?

That’s when karma entered the picture. My phone dinged with a reminder. Oh, my god. It was Brayden’s birthday! How could I have forgotten? Well, technically, I hadn’t, since I’d had the presence of mind at some point to add it to my calendar, thank God and Apple Computer.

I tapped out Meghan’s phone number. She picked up right away. “Harper! Wow! I heard you got the big storm!” Her voice was animated, and she was very excited with life at that moment.

“Boy, did we. I’m sitting here right now watching Brayden supervise his army to get it all cleaned up. Thank god the power is back on.”

“I’m not coming home just yet, you know,” she reminded me. “Uncle Brayden wants us to stay away until everything is fixed. But that’s okay, because Missy lives next door and her friends, Deb and Mousy—don’t you just love that name? Well, anyway, they’re all hanging out next door, and I’m invited tonight to watch old horror movies with them. I know it’s just an excuse to try on makeup and talk about boys, but what the heck, right?”

I could hear the joy in her voice. “I’m really excited for you, Meghan, but listen. Did you remember that today is Brayden’s birthday?”

There was a pause at the other end. “Oh, shoot! With the excitement of the storm and all, no, I forgot all about it. What am I going to do?”

“Hey, don’t sweat it. I’ve got it covered. Just do me a favor and DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT text or call him. I want him to think we’ve all forgotten about it. Tell Mrs. Sims the same thing. You can pick up a gift on your way home whenever you come back, but for now, I’ve got this one. Okay?”

“More than okay, Harper. Somehow I think he’s going to like your gift better than anything I could bring home anyway.”

“Meghan!”

“What?” she feigned innocence. “I’m just saying…”

“Enough of that. Okay, now remember, mum is the word.”

“Got it. Have fun, Harper.”

I got up and headed to the guest cottage. I spied the young woman who had been hanging around my place and waggled my finger. It worked, she responded immediately. I was sort of getting into this finger-wagging thing.

“What’s your name?” I asked her.

“Joy. How can I help?”

“Well, Joy, follow me.”

"Yes, ma’am,” she responded and followed me inside the cottage.

“Joy, this might seem like an odd question, but are you wearing other clothes under that jumpsuit?”

“Well, yes, my normal street clothes.”

“Here. I need your jumpsuit.”

“Ma’am?”

“Oh, don’t worry. You won’t get into trouble. I just need to use it for part of a costume and there’s no stores here as you can see.”

“Oh, there are more in the boat, ma’am. We carry extra in case we get spills or dirty, you see.”

I held out a crisp one-hundred-dollar bill. “Will you get me one?”

She grinned and took the bill from my fingertips. “No problem. I’ll be right back.” She stopped and pulled a plastic garbage bag from beneath my sink and left. A few minutes later, she was back and pulled the jumpsuit out of the bag, handing it to me. “Shall I hang this in your closet?”

Just like I’d thought – they were like flies.