Chapter Eighteen

Kathryn

“Baby, I know that I was harsh, and I hate to see you so upset. I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you let me take you to dinner tonight, and I can apologize to you as I should? You are better than what I have given you credit for, and I want to make it up to you,” Dan said. Kathryn rolled her eyes even though there was no way for her father to see her.

He had called her when he had heard that she had gotten home safe, and now he wanted to take her out to dinner. Kathryn’s immediate reaction was to tell him that she couldn’t make it, but at the same time, she did want to go. It had more to do with than the trust fund and the fact she was out of his good graces. She knew that he was the only family she had left, and she didn’t want to fight with him.

So she reluctantly agreed, with the stipulation that she was going to choose the restaurant. Hawk had taken her out to so many places when they were in Vegas that she didn’t want her father to choose something similar. She was in the mood for sushi, and she knew that he would like that, too.

“How about I send a cab your way around seven?” he asked. She once again hesitated, not wanting to make the plans she knew she had to make. With a sigh, she finally shrugged.

“All right, if that is what you want to do, then I will be here,” she said. When she hung up the phone, however, she felt a stomachache forming inside her. She didn’t want to see her father. She didn’t want to open the can of worms she knew they were going to fight about. He would tell her that he was sorry, but by the end of the dinner, he would most certainly have someone else that he wanted her to marry.

Marry. Marriage seemed like such a joke to her now. Ever since she had gotten back into town, all she could think about was Hawk. She couldn’t believe the few days they had shared together in Vegas, and she told herself over and over to let it go and forget about it. Hawk was bound to be on the cover of another tabloid soon enough, and she knew it was going to hurt when she saw him with his tongue jammed down the throat of another barely legal girl.

She had to get him out of her mind, and she wanted to get the notion of marriage out of her mind. She would marry Hawk in a heartbeat if he were to ask her, but she wasn’t going to bring it up, and she knew he would just as soon die as let that happen. He had no interest in settling down, and he wasn’t going to wanted to for her sake—she had served her purpose to him in Las Vegas, and he had served his purpose to her.

They had slaked each other’s lust, and now that they were home once more, they were to let it go. She would go to dinner with her father that night, and she would ward off whomever it was he had in mind now, and that would be the end of things. Life would go on, and she would move on. For all she knew, Hawk already had.

There were no messages from him on her phone, nor any indication from him that he wanted to get together with her for any reason. Sex was sex, and she should be glad that it was great. She still felt sore in all the right places, and she knew that the adventure she had had with him was going to last her a while.

Kathryn just had to get through this dinner.

***

“Thank you. Just charge it to the company,” Kathryn instructed the cab driver when she got out of the car. Her father had sent the cab to pick her up, so she felt comfortable telling the man that she wasn’t going to pay for it, her father was. He didn’t argue the point, telling her to have a good evening and driving off.

Kathryn shook her head. “Not likely.”

She smiled to herself, reminding herself that she ought to be more positive. There were so many things she wanted to say to her father, and now was the chance for her to do so without losing her temper. She didn’t want to make a scene in public, and she knew if he were to call her on the phone to apologize that way, it would certainly end in some kind of an argument.

She walked into the restaurant, holding her clutch in her hand. She glanced around, but it wasn’t long before waiter hurried over to her.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“Yes, I am supposed to be meeting my father, but I’m not sure if he is even here yet,” she replied.

“What’s the name?”

“Wellington.”

“Come with me.”

She hurried through the crowded restaurant, following the waiter as best she could with her heels. She had dressed up, wanting to show her father that he hadn’t taken her dignity, though he had cut off the money. Perhaps this would go well, and by the end of the night she would once again find herself in his good graces. Perhaps she would leave here not having to worry about her bills or anything else like that.

Her father was a hard man, but they both knew that they needed each other, and at the end of the day, they were the only ones who could call each other family.

“Right here, please,” the waiter said. Kathryn thanked him, but when she turned the corner, she stopped short. Hawk was not only standing in the restaurant, but he was with her father, clearly arguing with him about something. She ducked down, doing her best to stay out of sight as she crept closer to the two men, trying her best to hear what they were saying without them seeing her.

Hawk was doing his best to keep his voice down, but she could still hear him and her father without getting too close to the table. They were arguing about Vegas, and her.

“I can’t believe you would hire someone to photograph us!” Hawk was saying.

Kathryn felt a knot form in the pit of her stomach.

“How do you know that I hired anyone? You have no proof that I did any such thing. You, Mr. Parker, are a favorite for the paparazzi. I should think that you would be more careful with what you do in public.” He took a drink of his wine, and she thought for a moment that Hawk was going to hit her father. He clenched his fists and pressed them to his sides, clearly doing his best to maintain control over himself and the situation.

“No one knew that I was down there. I don’t make a habit of announcing when I am going out of town on business,” he said. He was biting his lower lip as he spoke, and she felt her heart sink lower.

“Mr. Parker, I don’t know what to tell you. I asked you for a simple request; you are the one who decided to sleep with her. I know that she is beautiful, but I never told you to do that. That is on you. The fact that you got caught in the act is not my fault, it’s yours.” Her father lifted the glass to his lips once more, and this time, she was almost certain he was going to strike the man.

Hawk looked down and shook his head, feeling that the entire situation was ludicrous. But he stood tall once more and crossed his arms.

“I know you are up to something. You knew where I was staying, you knew for how long, and you knew where she was staying as well. There is no way anyone would have wanted to randomly be at her window. You had to have set that up!” Kathryn saw him almost slap his hand on the table, but he stopped himself in the nick of time, clearly not wanting to get kicked out.

“Oh, throw yourself a pity party. You know as well as I do how that girl operates. She loves money above all else—money and herself. I cut her off from the trust fund, and I knew she was going to want to take out her frustration on something or someone. I would rather it have been you than anyone else. You know as well as anyone that you can’t keep your dick in your pants to save your life.” He looked at Hawk with a sadistic grin, and Hawk once again looked as though he was going to snap.

“When you can combine that with the fact she is willing to spread her legs for anyone with a checkbook, I knew that it was a match made in heaven. At least, that is one way I can look at it. You can get mad at me if you want, but do you really think she would have chosen you if you were poor? No! She wanted your money, and still does.” He laughed, and Kathryn felt her cheeks burn with rage. She wanted to say so much, but Hawk started talking again.

“And you think that everything we did was because she wanted the money?” He spoke with an incredulous tone, and the man nodded.

“Of course, it was. She wanted to rebel, and what better way to get back at Daddy and still get what she wanted than to turn to you? Tell yourself what you want, but you have both brought this on yourselves. I pray to God that you had the wits to use protection; the last thing I need is a bastard child out of this whole mess.” Dan laughed once more, clearly doing his best to get a major rise out of Hawk.

What he wanted more than anything was to cause yet another scandal. He knew the demise of the Parker Industries would boost his own economy, and with the way Hawk worked, it would not be that hard to do. He just had to know what to say and how to say it. Give it more time, and he would have this man throwing chair and smashing glasses before anyone could stop him.

Kathryn, however, had heard enough. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and she wanted to hit the table as much as Hawk did. She wanted to throw all the wine glasses on the floor and make a mess, screaming that everyone needed to simply leave her alone in life. She now realized why Hawk had been so into her when they were in Vegas.

There was no way for her to say how or why, but her father had had his claws in him somehow, and she wasn’t happy about it.

“Father? Is there something you want to tell me?” she asked as she walked up. Both men turned and looked at her with the utmost surprise, and Hawk stood up as tall as he could, doing his best to calm her down.

“Darling, what a surprise. You are early,” Dan said as he looked at his watch. She looked from one of them to the other and nodded.

“I can see that, and I apologize that it is an inconvenience. Oh, wait, you don’t care about what is an inconvenience to me now, do you? It’s all about you and your ideas—what you want, not what I want!” She pointed at her father with a menacing gesture, and he sighed.

“And you! How dare you act like what we had was anything special.” Kathryn rounded on Hawk, “Here you are, revealing your true colors. I don’t know what he offered you. Money? Success? Me? It doesn’t matter! I am my own woman, and I am not going to marry you under any circumstances! I thought you were different than that, but here you are, doing what everyone has always done!” She didn’t give him time to speak, nor did she give him any time to respond to her accusations.

“Guess what? I knew you were going to be in Vegas! My plan was to have my fun with you for the weekend and then forget you!”

She ignored the look of shock on his face. In her mind, all men were the same, and she wasn’t going to stand here and let Hawk take advantage of her as she felt he had all week long. If he wanted to work with her father, let him, but he was going to have to do it without her, and her father was going to have to be happy with Hawk and Hawk alone.

She was done with the entire situation, ready to wash her hands of the matter and move on. Love was a joke.

Hawk was a joke.