I’m so nervous as the car pulls up out front of the country club. The event is taking place in the banquet hall attached to the main club, and there are already a surprising number of people milling around the entrance.

“Ready?” Carson asks me.

I nod once, steeling myself. “I’m ready.”

“We don’t have to do this,” he says, wavering for a second. “If you’re not ready, we can go home.”

“I’m ready.”

He smiles and kisses me softly. “Of course you are. You’re going to be great.”

“Let’s go,” I say, and he pushes his door open.

As soon as he gets out, people start approaching. He has to fend them off as I get out. A few of the women around give me strange looks, probably surprised at my age, but nobody seems to notice me otherwise. The men mostly congregate around Carson as he shakes hands and introduces me.

I don’t remember a single name as we move into the country club. I know those men were powerful business leaders, but they all looked exactly alike and they were basically all named Alan or something like that. They’re all so much older than me and they live in a totally different world. It’s hard for me to relate to any of that.

It’s better inside. There are more people, but Carson isn’t swamped. We manage to get drinks at the bar, although the bartender gives me a momentary look. I’m afraid he’s going to ask for my ID, but he doesn’t, and the moment passes.

I can’t help but think about the age difference as Carson continues to introduce me to his peers. They’re all so much older, and although he doesn’t seem that old, he really is. He’s almost twenty years older than I am, which is part of the attraction, but it is admittedly very strange.

The whole thing is surreal. The main dinner event is taking place in a large banquet hall with many tables set up. Everyone is dressed in very formal attire, and at least I fit in that way, although I may be the youngest person in the room, aside from the wait staff.

Finally, we make our way across the room and find our table. I put down my small clutch and he grabs a glass of whisky from a passing waiter.

“You okay?” he asks me.

I nod, taking a breath. “A lot of people know you.”

He grins. “Told you I was famous.”

“How many of those names do I have to remember?” I ask.

He laughs a little. “None,” he says. “I barely remember any of them and I’ve known most of these people my whole life.”

“They’re all business owners?” I ask.

“Sure,” he says. “And congressmen, a senator, and at least two generals.”

“Really?” I ask, surprised.

“Sure. You didn’t notice? This is a rich person’s charity event.”

“Sorry. I don’t have much experience hobnobbing with the upper crust.”

He grins at me. “Well, get used to it. These things are mostly excuses to network. They’re incredible political.”

“Like how?” I ask.

“Well, look at that guy.” He nods at a man in his forties, relatively fit, wearing a dark suit and a red tie. “He’s an up and coming Republican guy. Wants to run for the house in four years. He’s here to meet some possible donors, shake some hands. Smile at the generals, that sort of thing. He’ll make a nice, large contribution, of course, but he wouldn’t be here if it didn’t benefit him in some way.”

I frown to myself, shaking my head. “Is anyone here for the right reasons?”

“I am,” he says, taking my hand.

“Seems like you’re doing a lot of political stuff yourself.”

He kisses my cheek softly. “I don’t need any of this,” he says. “I have enough.”

I smile up at him and understand what he’s trying to say. I kiss him lightly on the lips. “Okay, fine,” I say. “You’re not some stodgy old upper class jerk like the rest of these people.”

“Good, I’m glad you approve.”

“But you better not change. And don’t go into politics.”

“I promise.” He hooks my pinky with his. “Cross my heart.”

“Good.” I laugh and we let our hands drop down to our sides. I look back out over the crowd and feel a little calmer, less nervous. Elliot is likely out in that crowd somewhere, but I don’t see him. Instead, I spot the security guy Nick wearing a suit and standing near one of the walls. He catches me looking at him and gives me a quick nod.

“There’s Nick,” I say, but Carson doesn’t respond. He’s half turned away. I look at him and then follow his gaze across the room.

An older woman just entered and is surrounded by a group of people, shaking her hand and greeting her. She’s in her seventies, most likely, with distinguished gray hair and a tasteful pantsuit. She looks remarkable for a woman of her age, very poised and in control of herself.

“Who’s that?” I ask him.

“That’s my mother,” he says, glancing at me. “That’s Cora Price.”

“Oh,” I say, looking back at her. She’s not at all what I expected. I thought she’d be younger, but of course she isn’t. Carson is almost forty, she’d have to be in her late seventies at least. “She looks great,” I say.

“Mother does everything with grace,” he says flatly.

We stand there for a minute or two until his mother spots him and waves with a sweet smile on her face. She makes her way across the room and Carson walks up to her, meeting her halfway and kissing her on the cheek.

I miss what they say at first until I join them. Carson turns toward me and gestures. “Mother, this is Kylie. My date.” He emphasizes the last two word.

Cora Price’s eyes are sea blue and crystal clear. She may be old, but her mind is clearly still sharp as a tack, and I suspect she’s in better physical condition than I am. She looks at me for a moment, clearly appraising me.

“Lovely to meet you, dear,” she says finally.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Price.”

She laughs softly. “Please. Call me Cora.”

“Okay, Mrs. Price. I mean, Cora, sorry.”

“She’s very pretty,” she says to Carson. “Where’d you find this one?”

“In the street,” he says, his face completely expressionless.

“Of course you did,” she says. “I’ve heard all about her from your brother.”

“Where is that piece of shit?” he asks her.

“Skipping out, for some reason,” she answers.

I squirm slightly, very uncomfortable. I can tell from the tone of her voice that whatever Elliot told her, it was not flattering at all.

“I’ll never understand your devotion to him,” Carson says. “We both know he’s a swine.”

“At least he’s a married swine with children,” his mother returns. “And how old is this one? Twenty?”

“Nineteen,” I say softly.

She laughs softly and shakes her head at Carson. “Come now, when are you going to get serious?”

“I don’t need to explain myself to you of all people, mother,” he says, holding back some anger. “And I am serious. Very serious.”

“About this girl?” His mother laughs again. “She’s lovely, she really is, and may be very nice. But she’s much too young for you.”

“That doesn’t matter to me,” he says.

“It should. It really should.”

I stand there, feeling so incredibly uncomfortable that I want to scream. He didn’t really warn me that this might happen, although he doesn’t seem very surprised about it. I can’t believe that she is openly saying these things right in front of me like I don’t exist. It’s both demeaning and infuriating, and I don’t know if I want to run away or scream at her.

“You don’t even know her,” Carson says.

“You want me to know her?” Cora asks.

“Yes,” he answers. “Give her a chance.”

His mother watches him for a moment, considering, and then nods. “Very well. I’ll give her a chance.” She turns her gaze on me and I’m inches from running for the hills. “Come on, dear. Let’s have a chat.”

Carson looks at me and nods. I force a smile on my face. “Okay,” I say.

His mother turns and walks off. Carson nods at me again. “Good luck,” he says softly, and then I’m walking after his mother, nervous as hell and a little bit afraid.

She leads us through the crowd and down a side hall. The wait staff ignores her, almost like everyone knows her, until we finally end up at another bar at the other end of the building. There are a couple people sitting there drinking, men that look like regulars. Cora pulls out a stool and sits, and I join her.

“Gin martini,” she orders from the bartender, and then glances at me. “Are you old enough to drink, dear?” she asks.

“Make that two,” I say to the bartender. He smiles and walks off.

“So, you’re with my eldest,” she says. “Who are you and what do you want?”

I’m pretty taken aback by how direct she is. Her tone is cold and calculating, and I don’t know what to say.

“I, uh, I’m Kylie,” I say. “I’m from Los Angeles. I met your son when he, well, he helped me.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Helped you how? Paid for you for the whole month?”

I blink. “I’m not a prostitute,” I say.

“Of course. So you’re from Los Angeles, then. What are you doing here?”

“I’m starting a new life,” I say. “I came here with nothing and had nothing when I met your son. He gave me a place to stay and helped me.”

“So you’re a freeloader,” she says. “After money, I’m guessing.”

“No,” I say, flustered. The bartender returns with two martini glasses. Cora smile at him and pays him, leaving a generous tip, before turning back to me.

“Listen to me, Kylie whoever you are. My son Carson is a decent man, but he doesn’t know how to settle down for the life of him. I’ve seen your kind with him before, you never last long, and you always leave heartbroken. Is that what you want?”

I shake my head slowly. “No, of course not.”

“You’re young. Carson is rich and handsome. It’s easy to see why you’d want him. But he’s also powerful and important, and he might even take over the Price Oil Company someday soon. I simply cannot have someone your age around him, mucking things up, getting in the way. Do you understand?”

“I don’t want to get in the way,” I say. I sip my martini to help with the nerves.

“Here’s what I propose. Save everyone the trouble and leave. I will buy you a plane ticket to anywhere you want and I will pay you ten thousand dollars if you will leave tomorrow.”

I stare at her, completely shocked. I can’t believe that this is happening. “Have you done this before?” I ask her softly.

She laughs. “Of course I have. You’re not the first problem I’ve made go away.”

I can’t believe she’s saying this. She’s bribed Carson’s girlfriends, or whatever they were, to leave him. She paid women he might have cared about to run out on him because she didn’t approve. No wonder he hasn’t had a serious relationship, his mother has been buying the girls off and making them go away.

“I can’t do that to him,” I say.

She sighs. “Fifty thousand, then. But you leave tonight.”

I gape at her, shocked. Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money. I’ve never had that much money, and maybe never will.

“I don’t know what to say,” I answer, stalling.

“Listen to me, dear. Take the money and go. You’re young and pretty. Don’t get involved with a man like Carson.”

“Why not?” I whisper.

“Enjoy your youth,” she says, sipping her own drink. “Carson is going to be busy soon. He’s going to be a very important man, assuming he doesn’t mess it all up. You’ll just be a distraction for him, a distraction he can’t afford.”

I watch her for a moment, not sure what to say. On some level, I know she’s telling the truth. I know she’s absolutely right about all of this. Carson is an important man and he’s already incredibly distracted by me. And his brother is already using me against him, trying to destroy him.

I am getting in the way. I know it, and can’t do anything about it. But I don’t want to run out on him like this. I don’t want to hurt him and be just another in a long line of women that hurt him. He doesn’t talk about that, but I’m starting to suspect that it’s true.

If I stay, I could hurt him. If I go, I could hurt him. I don’t know what to do.

“Take some time, think about it,” his mother stays, standing. “Enjoy the martini. It’s very good. Here’s my number if you decide.”

She places a card on the bar in front of me and walks off, leaving me alone at the bar.

I take the card. It’s a simple business card with Cora Price’s name and private number on it. I twirl it between my fingers, lost and confused.

What am I going to do? If I go back in there, I know that I won’t leave. If I look Carson in the face again, I know he’ll convince me to stay somehow. I don’t want to go.

I know that I should. I don’t care about the money, though. I don’t want a dime of it. It never mattered to me, having money, aside from being able to afford a place to live. I can’t accept that money and sell Carson out like that, he doesn’t deserve it.

But he also doesn’t deserve having me around, destroying his chances at getting the CEO position. I’m a liability. I’ve already done so much damage.

I sip my drink, mind going in circles, terrified of what I’m going to do.