Chapter 16
Kain
Mandy's suggestion came as quite a surprise to me.
“You want to come with me to this meeting? But... why?”
She shrugged but I could see that there was some sort of scheme going on in her head.
“I just feel like I might be able to help you. Your father seems to think highly of me; maybe he would value my opinion, and if I present my opinion in the right way, it might be able to change his mind on a few things.”
I shook my head, not feeling hopeful at all. “Did you miss the part where I told you that he's pretty much the most stubborn person I've ever met?”
“I have a gift... I'm able to make stubborn people change their minds,” she replied with a wink.
I wasn't sure how much of what she said there was a joke but I knew how immensely stubborn my father was, and gift or no gift, I doubted very much that she would get him to budge even an inch on his ideas. Nonetheless, I figured it would be good to have a little support with me.
“All right,” I said to her. “I'd appreciate that, actually. Don't get your hopes up about being able to change my dad's mind on anything though – I'm just telling you that because it's a fact.”
She smiled, and as she did I felt momentarily weak at the knees. She had an utterly gorgeous smile. “There's no harm in trying, right?”
“No, there isn't. And thank you for wanting to try in the first place.”
“No problem. When do we go?”
I checked the time. “Right about now, I guess.”
“Well, what are we waiting for then?” she asked. “Let's get moving.”
HALF AN HOUR LATER
I walked into the boardroom feeling a sense of mild trepidation. I wasn't intimidated by these people, not by any means, but I didn't want to be here and didn't want to discuss this issue. Still, I had been putting it off and dodging and evading it for a long time now, and I couldn't keep running away from it.
My father was sitting at the table, along with Marsha and Tracy. Tracy, looking very sexy in a tight, figure-hugging black dress, was made up and dressed up; she was obviously doing her best to try to impress me.
She was blonde, blue-eyed, and long-legged, everything a model should be. But as physically attractive as she was, I felt nothing toward her. The emptiness of her character and her almost soulless nature made her virtually repulsive in my eyes. And besides, I found Mandy to be way more physically attractive anyway; I had always preferred curvy girls over stick-thin model types.
Marsha had the looks of a woman who had been very beautiful in her younger years but now that those looks had mostly faded, she was left with an angular, pinched kind of face that had seen too much plastic surgery. She looked at me, a tight-lipped smile on her face, and there was something suspicious in those blue eyes of hers, something that I instantly disliked and distrusted.
My father was looking jovial; he obviously expected everything to go smoothly here and didn't have any idea that his idea may be opposed.
None of them were expecting anyone else to come to this meeting, so surprise flashed across all their faces as Mandy entered the room. My father managed to recover his composure pretty quickly though, and he smiled at her.
“Miss Benson,” he said. “It's good to see you.”
He then turned to speak to me, a somewhat quizzical expression on his face. “Why is our marketing director attending this meeting?”
“She's helped me make a few key decisions recently,” I answered, “and seeing as we're discussing some pretty important stuff with regard to the company's future, I figured she might be able to give me some valuable input.”
Marsha simply glared with open hostility at Mandy. Tracy, however, stared at her with a mixture of anger and bewilderment. She was definitely threatened by Mandy but was doing her best to hide it.
“Everyone,” I said, “this is Mandy Benson, our new marketing manager. Mandy, this is Marsha Hendrikson of Hendrikson, Inc., and her daughter Tracy Hendrikson.”
“Hi,” said Mandy politely, wearing a smile of calm confidence. “It's great to meet you.”
“Yes,” hissed Marsha, still wearing that tight-lipped smile. “Welcome.”
Tracy, however, said nothing. She just rolled her eyes and looked away.
“Miss Benson, please have a seat,” said my father, smiling warmly.
I pulled out a chair for Mandy and she sat down, and then I took a seat next to her.
“Why don't we get started?” suggested my father.
All the while, Marsha was staring with an icy gaze at Mandy. “You are aware, Miss Benson,” she said coolly, “that we are discussing issues that do not solely concern our companies, are you not? Issues that have nothing to do with... outsiders.”
Mandy kept her cool, despite the blatant provocation. “I'm aware of that, yes. And I feel that even though these issues have nothing to do with personally, I might be able to provide Kain with some valuable advice.”
“Hmph,” scoffed Marsha with a barely-concealed snarl.
“Now, Marsha,” cautioned my father, trying to remain diplomatic, “she may be able to provide some insight.”
I could see, however, that despite what he was saying, he was skeptical about whether she could, and was pretty annoyed at her presence here. Mandy took it all in stride though and remained calm and collected.
“Thank you, Mr. Williams,” she said with a pleasant smile.
He simply nodded to acknowledge this. Then he turned and looked at me.
“So, you and I have spoken at length about this situation,” he said, “and I think that we can both agree that it would be most advantageous for you to consider what has been proposed between you and Tracy here. After all, things did go well on the date you two had the other night, didn't they?”
As he said this, a look of surprise crossed Mandy's face, while a flush of guilt heated my cheeks. I hadn't told her about the date... and now I was thinking that I really should have.
“Things went, uh, well...” I stammered.
“Things went amazingly,” interjected Tracy, her voice honey-sweet as she did her best to impress both me and my father. “We just talked all night and had such a wonderful time.”
Mandy shot me an angry glance but I looked away from her and looked at my father instead. “That's not exactly the case,” I said, speaking to him but directing my sentiments at everyone there.
“What?!” exclaimed Tracy, her pride at once wounded.
“You spent a lot of time talking about yourself,” I remarked dryly, shooting her an accusatory glance. “I hardly had the opportunity to get more than two or three words in the whole night.”
I was trying to bait her into an argument; if she snapped now, my father would see that she had a short temper and would perhaps soften his line on me having to marry her. I wasn't lying though; the date really had been like that. She had just talked and talked and talked. I had been bored to death.
I had to wonder, though, whether Marsha had prepared her for something like this. It seemed that she had, because I could tell that Tracy was doing her utmost to keep her temper under control. She suddenly laughed lightly, as if brushing off what I was saying.
“You're so funny, Kain,” she said. I could hear it was forced – but could anyone else?
“I don't recall being able to fit in any jokes that night,” I countered.
“Nonsense! You had me in stitches all night. I don't think I've ever met anyone who can make me laugh so much!”
She laughed again, and it sounded painfully forced. My father, however, didn't seem to be able to pick up on this, and he nodded approvingly.
“My boy always has had a fantastic sense of humor,” he remarked. “It seems like things went well! I like where this is heading.”
“And you two would look so good together,” said Marsha. “Why, with the combination of these genes, you'd have children who were just the best-looking kids in the country! They would be the perfect heirs to inherit the company. And by the company, I mean the mega company that will emerge after Hendrikson, Inc. merges with your company. Those children would grow up to be some of the most powerful people in the United States. And we'd be their grandparents,” she said, shooting a conspiratorial glance across at my father, who nodded and smiled.
“It would be a match made in heaven,” he said. “An alliance that would benefit everyone involved.”
My blood was starting to boil now. My future was being decided for me right here in this room, and it was if nothing I felt about it mattered at all.
“Go stand next to Tracy,” instructed my father. “I want to see in the flesh how good you two look together.”
“Dad,” I growled, shaking my head.
“Come on, Kain.” He would not entertain any rebelliousness here. “Go on, just humor me. I just want to see how you two look together.”
Tracy stood up eagerly, smiling flirtatiously at me and batting her eyelashes. I glanced at Mandy, who was looking upset, but she swallowed whatever emotions were bothering her and nodded subtly. I sighed, got up, and walked over to Tracy. As I stood next to her, she tried to slide her hand into mine but I pulled it away before she could.
“Well, now, look at that,” said my dad, nodding approvingly. “You two just look amazing. Like a real Hollywood couple.”
“We could have a real fairytale wedding,” said Tracy, gushing. She kept edging closer to me, and I could feel my temper rising.
“I'd be happy to arrange that,” said Marsha, a strange and almost cruel glint sparking in her eyes as she looked at me. “Yes, very happy to arrange that. It would be the wedding of the century, it really would.”
“Oh, we could hire out...” said Tracy excitedly but in my head her words were blurring into a muted roar, and I couldn't make out what she was saying. All I could hear was my own voice inside my head, screaming no. I didn't want this. I didn't want any of this. My life was going to be in my hands, my own hands, and nobody else's.
“No,” I said softly.
Tracy, however, didn't seem to hear me. She just kept on talking.
“And I think the right car to use for our wedding would be—” she was saying excitedly.
“No,” I said, more forcefully this time.
“And the chauffeur could wear—”
“NO!” I roared, clenching my fists.
Everyone stopped and stared at me.
“No what?” asked Marsha, looking annoyed.
“No to everything! No to these plans, no to this wedding, and no to Tracy! I don't want to marry someone I'm not in love with, someone who I don't—”
“Love will come in time,” said my father calmly. “Affection will grow as you two get to know each other better. And I don't see any problem with the physical attraction aspect either. Tracy is a model and she's gorgeous, and you're a handsome young man.”
“I don't care!” I snapped. “She's not the person I want to marry! I don't even want to go on another date with her!”
“How can you say that?!” sobbed Tracy suddenly, bursting into tears. “You're so cold, so cruel!”
“I don't like you! You're spoiled, selfish and—”
Now her tears of pain turned to tears of rage.
“Oh, and you think you're so great?! Do you know how many guys would kill, and I mean kill, to be with someone like me?! I'm a model, a famous model! Every guy wants me! Every guy except you, it seems! What's wrong with you?! Are you blind, can you not see what's in front of you?! You'll never have the chance to be with someone as beautiful as me again, never! You're throwing away a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! What's wrong with you?! Are you even a man?! Do you have anything between your legs?! Or maybe, maybe it's not girls you like... Is that it?! Is that why you're being such a stupid jerk about this?!”
“No!” I roared. “It's because.... it's because...”
“Because what?!” sneered Martha.
“Because, because...”
“Because you're the one who's a spoiled brat!” she snapped. “A spoiled brat with no concept of the long-term future, with no idea how to appreciate the genius of this plan that your father and I have been working on, a fool who—”
“Because there's someone else!” I suddenly shouted.
That shut everyone up.
“What... what the heck do you mean there's someone else?” demanded my dad. “What are you talking about?!”
I looked across at Mandy, who was looking totally shocked, and shot her a glance that told her exactly what I was about to say. Her look of shock remained but now it became a totally different kind of shock. She now knew what I was going to say, and she was totally unprepared for it. Nonetheless, I had started on this course now and there was no way I was going to deviate from it. I had reached the point at which I no longer gave a damn. I was about to take control of my life once and for all, and there was nothing that my dad or Marsha could do to stop me.
“Well, what are you waiting for?!” demanded Marsha, her face purple with wrath. “Tell us!”
I turned and looked at Mandy and smiled – and to my surprise, she smiled back at me.
“Her,” I said simply.
My father almost fell off his chair. Marsha's beady little eyes almost popped out of their sockets. And Tracy, it seemed, reacted with just as much surprise; she stumbled back and almost tripped over her own feet.
“Her?!” she gasped, utterly incredulous. “But she's just a... she's a total... she's a nobody! She's nothing compared to me!”
“Classy, real classy,” hissed Marsha sardonically. “You might as well be getting it on with a secretary.”
I could see that these horrible comments were hurting Mandy, and that made me furious.
“If you two don't shut up with your comments, you'll regret it, and I mean seriously regret it,” I growled. “I don't care who you are; nobody, and I mean nobody, disrespects my woman.”
“When did this start?!” gasped my father, finally speaking after he had been shocked into silence. “How long has this been going on?! And why is this the first time I'm hearing about it?!”
“We've been together for a few weeks now,” I said.
I wasn't sure what else to say; obviously, it wouldn't be a great idea to talk about the one-night stand at this point. I looked across to Mandy, and she could see that I was struggling here. She gave me a subtle nod, and then started to speak.
“We felt a spark the first time we saw each other,” she said smoothly and calmly, taking all of this in her stride.
She, too, realized that we couldn't mention how it was that we first met. And she was actually telling the truth, because we had both felt a powerful spark when we had first met. The alcohol had amplified it but it hadn't created it. Even if I had been sober as a judge on the night we first met, I would still have fallen head over heels for her. I knew that now with utter certainty.
“And... and neither of you though to tell me about this until now?” demanded my father.
“I'm sorry, Mr. Williams,” said Mandy, now starting to look a little flustered. “It's just that, you know, I was just starting out at the company, and there has been so much pressure and stress, and neither of us has had any free time, and...”
I could see that she was struggling now, and I decided that I needed to step in and help her.
“It's okay, Mandy,” I said gently. “Let me tell him.”
“Tell me what?” he snapped. “What other secrets have you been hiding from me?”
“I told her not to say anything,” I said. “And it was my decision to keep this from you. I knew how you'd react, and right now, you're proving me right. I didn't want to subject the woman I care so deeply about to this kind of behavior, so I told her to keep it secret. I knew that you wouldn't be able to handle it – but now you've forced my hand, you've pushed me so far into the corner that you've left me with no choice but to do this. So here it is, everything is out in the open now! And nobody, nobody in this room, not you, Marsha, not you, Tracy, and certainly not you, Dad, can do a damn thing about it! I'm in charge of my life, I'm in charge of my destiny! And I'm the only one who gets to decide who I choose to spend my life with! And it's her – she's the one who I want to spend my life with!”
I stood up, and nobody said a thing. I then walked over to Mandy and took her hand.
“Come on,” I said, feeling a surge of pure electricity as my hand touched hers. “We're leaving.”
And with that, we both turned and left the room.