At Any Price

I blinked. Mom’s mortgage foreclosure came due in two months. “Are you willing to pay me now?”

  “Of course not. ”

  I turned to him. “You don’t trust me?”

  “I make it a policy never to buy what I can’t pay for and never to pay for what I can’t own immediately. It makes for good business. ”

  I sighed. “Then we should compromise. Because I need that money soon. ”

  He tilted his head to the side, studying me again. “I thought this was about feminist ideals and the ‘new paradigm. ’”

  “I never said it was only about those ideals. ”

  He said nothing, just grazed me with that cold stare.

  I shook my head. “You aren’t allowed to judge me. Not until you’ve sat where I’m sitting. ”

  He looked annoyed. “What makes you think I haven’t?”

  I waved significantly at the interior of the expensive town car driving us to the airport. We were sitting as far apart from each other as you could possibly get in the back of that car, but the energy still crackled between us. For some reason I thought that last night had killed that tension between us, but it only seemed to be stronger this morning. I was aware of everything about him, his posture, his movements, the way he tapped his index finger on his knee when his hand rested there. The way his muscular form perfectly filled his clothes. His clean, masculine scent. The way his dark eyes watched me, calculating. Assessing.

  “Next week, then. ”

  A week? A rush of heat rose to my features, but this time not from frustration or anger. This heat was one of anticipation. Because despite his annoying talk of “owning” my virginity, the feelings I’d begun to feel last night—the unfulfilled sensations he’d stirred in me—were rearing their heads, screaming to be heard. Last night I’d been sad that this would be over by today. Now I had another week. The mixed feelings swirled and tightened in my chest like a whirlwind about to lift from the ground.

  I glanced out the window to cover my reaction. The airport was just ahead. “Will you be in some other glamorous location next week?”

  “I’ll only be at home. I’m having some guests over for dinner. You could come. Afterward, we’ll take the yacht out past the twelve-mile mark. ”

  I turned back to him, my annoyance bleeding through in the sarcasm in my voice. “Because, of course you have a yacht. ”

  He smiled. “Of course. ”

  We didn’t speak again through the airport check-in process. Adam was attentive, carrying my bag for me and running it through security, but his manner was brisk, efficient, cool and impersonal. It was as if we were strangers. And in truth, we really were.

  When we took our seats next to each other, we started to talk again. We chose neutral, safe territory—the game. He was usually reluctant to discuss it, I’d noticed. He was probably concerned that I’d try to start digging into game secrets again. But I’d waited until after we’d been served a delightful lunch by a lovely blond British Air Hostess who was extremely attentive to all of Adam’s needs, complete with her own unsubtle brand of flirting. I began to wonder if he had this kind of effect on every woman in his proximity.

  He turned to me over dessert. “So, I know from your blog that you play a Spiritual Enchantress. But you’ve never mentioned your character’s name. ”

  I look askance at him. “Of course not. If my readers knew my character in the game, it might affect the game experience. Gotta keep the trade secrets under the pointed wizard hat. ”

  He smiled. “So what is your character’s name?”

  I gazed at him suspiciously. “Why do you want to know my character’s name?”

  He shrugged. “Just curious. ”

  “Are you going to look me up or something?”

  “Okay then, what server do you play on?”

  “Omni. ”

  Page 41

  He looked pensive. “Hmm. Power gamer. ”

  I shrugged. “Does that surprise you?”

  “No. I’m starting to realize you have a thing about power and control. ”

  “Wow, you make me sound so…Dominatrix. Maybe that should be the next class of character you introduce into the game with the next expansion. ”

  He laughed.

  I tilted my head at him expectantly. “Do you play?” I asked.

  “DE?”

  “No…World of Warcraft,” I snarked. “Of course DE. ”

  “I have a character. ”

  “A secret character? Other than your public persona, Lord Sisyphus?”

  He looked away with a smirk. “Yeah, I have a secret character. ”

  My mouth dropped. “The truth comes out. You’re like King Henry the Fifth. ”

  “What?”

  “Oh yeah, you dropped out of geek college so you wouldn’t have read up on your Shakespeare. Henry the Fifth dressed up like a common soldier and went around his war camps to see who was talking trash about him. ”

  He barked a laugh. “Shit, if I was worried about who was talking trash about me, I’d have quit this business a long time ago. ”

  “So, how often do you play? Do you group up with other players?”

  “Once a week and of course. You know you can’t get any of the good stuff done without a large group. ”

  “Why?” I puzzled. “Why would you want to play when you know all the secrets—all of the quest chains, all of the back story? Wouldn’t that be boring?”

  He shrugged. “I playtest my own product. It’s being thorough. I’m always very thorough. ”

  He seemed to be saying something to me, a weighted double entendre, but I didn’t get it. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours,” he said suddenly.

  “Character?”

  “Yeah, but you can’t rat me out on your blog. ”

  I shook my head. “Of course not. I’m under an NDA, am I not? With no expiration date. If you want to know so badly, couldn’t you just look me up under my account information? My real name is on that. ”

  “I could. I’d rather you told me. ”

  “Her name is Eloisa. ”

  He nodded. “Okay. Maybe I’ll add you to my friends list. ”

  “And you are…?” I raised my brows at him.

  He looked at me and hesitated, then cleared his throat. “Magnus. ”

  Of course. Magnificent. And parts of him truly were magnificent. And other parts seemed dark, shrouded, and brooding. I never knew what Adam I was going to get from one moment to the next.

  During the latter part of the flight, he’d managed to take a nap and I watched him sleep, utterly fascinated. But it wasn’t until we’d landed that I remembered the cell phone he’d given me in Amsterdam. I reached into my jacket pocket and handed it to him.

  “Here’s your phone back. ”

  “Actually, that’s yours. I have my own…an irritating one that tends to ring at the most inopportune times,” he said with a grimace.

  “But—”

  “You said yours wasn’t working. I want to be able to get a hold of you, so I arranged for that one and I don’t need it. Keep it and keep it charged. I want to be able to reach you. ”

  “Ah, I see. Is this part of that whole thing? You’re keeping tabs on me until this transaction is complete?”

  He shrugged. “If you want to think of it that way. ”

  I glared at him, tempted to cram the damn thing down his throat until he spoke again. “Besides, you can use the web feature to respond to comments on your blog from wherever you are. ”

  Now that I liked. “Hmm. Well, I can keep it until we are…through with each other. But then I’m giving it back. ”

  The expression on his face was enigmatic. “If you must. ”

  When he dropped me off from the airport, he walked me to my door, insisting on carrying my ratty bag. We stood at the door staring at each other for a long, awkward moment.

  “So, I guess I’ll see you this Frida
y?” I said.

  “Yes. I’ll text you. ”

  “Not sure my old car is allowed on the road in Newport Beach amongst all the glittering Bentleys and Beemers. I might get pulled over the minute I cross the city limit. ”

  He laughed. “I’ll arrange for a car to come get you. ”

  “Fancy. Don’t suppose I can persuade you to turn off your phone that night. ”

  Page 42

  “I might be very tempted. ” He grinned that boyish grin that made my heart flip.

  “Remember, the early dinner will be before. I’ve invited some friends, so bring your best manners. ”

  I crinkled up my mouth. “I’ll try to find some by then. ”

  He took a step closer to me, reached up to brush the hair away from my face. I looked up into his eyes and a jolt of heat shot through me, remembering the feel of his mouth, his hands on my body that brief night in Amsterdam.

  Now the magic had followed us home, and swirled around us as we stood on the tattered, rubber mat on my doorstep, likely with my landlady watching through her vertical blinds.

  “Until Friday, Emilia,” and he dipped his head to drop a chaste kiss on my lips before pulling away, turning to walk down the steps and back to the town car. I watched him the entire way, my mouth slack in surprise. I was at least hoping to get a little tongue.

  It was Sunday afternoon and I was exhausted, of course, but I knew I had to call Heath right away—on his strict orders—and let him know how the whole weekend had unrolled. “What?” he shrieked when I got to the part about the phone call, but for a minute I couldn’t tell whether it was his concern over the near-crisis with the game patch or that he couldn’t believe Adam had delayed the entire thing on account of business.

  “He had you on the couch stripped to the waist and playing with your girl parts and he answered the phone? He’s gotta be gay. ”

  I laughed. “Wishful thinking, I’m afraid. It was very obvious that he was turned on and very reluctant to answer the phone. Apparently the guy was warned not to call unless it was an emergency. ”

  “Shit. So what’s the upshot? He gonna pay you? He had his night. ”

  I cleared my throat, fidgeting from one foot to the other.

  “Hello? You still there?”

  “Yeah. ”

  “So…?”

  “So I think he might have been cool with doing that except I had a big mouth and joked about doubling my money by running another auction. ”

  “There’s no fucking way I’m doing another one, doll. Your favor debt to me is epic as it is. ”

  “It was a joke. I was trying to be funny—ha ha. It was awkward, he was acting all cold and distant, not like the night before. ”

  “Okay. So you joked around…and then what?”

  “Well, then he gets all weird and starts saying I don’t have the right to sleep with anyone else but him until the contract is fulfilled. ”

  “Uhh. ”

  “Is that true? Is he right?”

  “Doll, you can do whatever you want…it’s not like he can sue you for breach. The money has yet to be transferred into your account. ”

  “What if he’s planning to never pay me?”

  “Oh, I made sure the agreement states that the NDA goes bye-bye if he doesn’t pay you. If he goes through with it and doesn’t pay, you sell your story to the press and he’s fucked. ”

  I took a deep breath. “But what about the other? That I can’t be with someone else until…”

  “Were you planning on it?”

  “No. ”

  “Does he intend to drag this out for six months and not pay you?”

  “That’s what I asked him. He made arrangements to get together Friday night and…do the deed in international waters on his yacht. ”

  “Hmm. Okay. That works. Can’t help but wonder why he didn’t just get ‘er done the morning before you left. ”

  I shrugged. Maybe he wanted it to be more romantic? But I couldn’t help but wonder at that. The day we were touring around Amsterdam and Adam had asked me about my dating habits, he’d admitted to me that he didn’t do romance. That he’d never been in a relationship before and had little interest. Yet another thing in which we coincided.

  “Well,” said Heath. “As long as he has a backup plan…but you gotta call me before you leave and when you get back. I don’t like the thought of him strangling you out there and dumping you overboard. ”

  I huffed. “Gee, now that’s reassuring. ”

  “Mia, I don’t think he’s a bad person, but he had a pretty shitty childhood. ”

  Now I sat up, interested. “What do you know?”

  “I did a background check on him. Mostly public record stuff, really. His mom was an alcoholic and he was placed in the child protective system as a young teen. ”

  “Yeah, that I know. He told me as much. ”

  Page 43

  “Yeah, well, when he got here and started at the new high school he apparently was the victim of one of the most notorious bullying cases in the county. ”

  I tried to picture any suicidal idiot trying to take down six-foot, exquisitely ripped Adam. I’d touched him—he was solid, athletic, strong. My heart bounced at the memory of his body under my shaking hands. Then I remembered what he’d told me when I’d been teasing him about those muscles…that he’d chosen to bulk up as a deterrent to being bullied.

  “What happened?”

  “Track team. I guess he was a runner—” He was a runner! “One of the better members of the team, but he was the new guy and some of the older kids singled him out. I found several old newspaper clippings at the library from the OC Register. A whole group of them beat the crap out of him and then duct-taped his hands, legs and mouth and shoved him in a locker overnight. He was in the hospital in critical condition for over a week. There was a lawsuit filed against the district, the perps were arrested and thrown in juvey. “

  The air hissed out of my lungs. “That’s horrible. ”

  “Yeah. ”

  “But that doesn’t mean he’s going to strangle me and throw me into the ocean. ”

  “I know. But I’m just saying. It doesn’t matter how rich or powerful a person is, they’ve all got their demons. ”

  “Do you know who Sabrina is?”

  “Huh?”

  “He has a tattoo, just above his heart. It says ‘Sabrina. ’ Was that his girlfriend?”

  “Nothing I ever saw written up on him ever mentioned a relationship or girlfriend. I have no idea what the tattoo means. ”

  “Maybe it was his dog. ”

  “I took him for a cat person, actually. ”

  We chatted for a few more minutes before I begged off with exhaustion and hopped into the shower. In spite of that, I did manage to cram in about three hours of studying, interrupted briefly by the usual bang at my door.

  “Password,” I shouted from the couch. She heard me through the open window.

  “I aim to misbehave,” Alex said and then opened the door and bounced across the room like the Tazmanian Devil on caffeine and landed right beside me with a plop. My old couch groaned down to its wooden frame in protest.

  “Studying again?”

  I held up my Gray’s Anatomy by way of answering.

  She huffed. “Why don’t you just watch the TV show instead of reading that big fat book?”

  I feinted throwing it at her and she lurched back, holding up her hands, laughing. “Mom wants to know if you’ll come down and eat dinner with us and I want to know who is that hot man who dropped you off this morning. ”

  Yep, her mother had definitely been peeking through the blinds.

  “Ah, being a chismosa?” I said, teasing her with the Spanish word for a gossipmonger.

  “Always. So give me the chisme,” she said, leaning forward and pinning me down with her large, dark eyes.

  “He’s just some guy I know,” I said,
shrugging it off and twisting to set the heavy book down on a side table made from a wooden telephone cable spool.

  She looked askance. “In a town car with a driver?”

  Shit. How was I going to explain that? I took a deep breath, deciding to go on the offensive. “Alejandra Carmen Arias. Are you grilling me?”

  “If that’s what it takes. Are you dating him?”

  I sliced a glance at her and then away, shrugging. I was keenly aware that I was the worst liar ever. But better she think we were dating than know what was really going on. Alex went to mass with her mom every week and I was pretty sure she wouldn’t approve—feminist ideals or no. “Kind of. ”

  “Mom said he was really good looking. ”

  I suppressed a grin. “I’m glad she approves. ” Just how long had she been peeking at us through those blinds?

  “Come on, Mia! Spill! You are killing me. ”

  I stood up and bushed off my jeans. “Not yet. But soon, okay? I don’t want to jinx anything. ” I hoped that threw her off. Alex had a bit of a superstitious streak in her. Before she could ask me another question I went to the door and motioned her out with me. Who was I to turn down a free, guaranteed delicious dinner? “Can you do my hair for Friday night? I have a date and I want to wear it up. ”

  Mischief sparkled in her dark eyes. “I’ll do it if you tell me his name. ”

  I grabbed her hand and shook it. “Deal. Now let’s go eat. I’m starving. ”

  Page 44

  Chapter Seven

  The week dragged on and I muddled through hospital shifts and blog posts and studying a little more grudgingly than I had before. The dream of Amsterdam was a distant memory, like the glitter falling off a cheap knockoff souvenir brought back as a memento of an otherworldly vacation. I’d only been out of the country for forty-eight hours, including travel—but I knew I wanted to go back, and very soon.

  I continued taking the birth control pills and bought a few back copies of Cosmo to read up on their “great sex” articles, all the while realizing how ridiculous it was to use pop culture as sex education. Until the trip to Holland, I’d never been concerned with having to please a partner. But now, I was determined to make him feel as good as he had made me feel in those few moments when we had been kissing and touching.

  Two days before the dinner party, a box arrived from the Netherlands. I opened it up to find all three gowns that were hanging in the wardrobe in my room in Amsterdam. I gasped. The card inside said only, Wear one of these Friday.

  Since he’d already seen me in the breathtaking black, I chose the long crème-colored one. It had a halter top that looped around my neck and it, too, was backless. This dress, though long, felt like it exposed me more and I couldn’t explain why. It was an extremely feminine dress, with a full, creased skirt of gauzy material—the kind that Marilyn Monroe wore when her dress famously blew upward over the air grate in Some Like it Hot.