“Did you know all the people who made the same money as your parents?” he asked.
“Point taken,” I said with a yawn.
“Enough talk about this. I think you should have a bath then I can massage those wonderfully sexy muscles you used today.”
“I’m not going to say no to that,” I said.
After my completely relaxing bubble bath, I found Anthony on the bed in his pajama pants. He patted the bed next to him and instructed me to lie down. He started rubbing my neck and moved to my back. It felt like heaven.
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, it was morning, and I was in bed alone. I heard music coming from the kitchen, so I quickly used the bathroom and went to see what he was doing.
“Just in time for omelets,” he said, when he saw me.
“Sorry I fell asleep on you last night.”
“I could tell you were exhausted. But we have the whole day to make up for it.”
“I like the sound of that,” I said with a grin.
“What do you like in your omelet?” he asked, and pointed to the counter.
There was a whole assortment of things to choose from. I picked ham, cheese, mushrooms and peppers. Anthony made us each one and it was delicious.
“Thank you,” I told him. “That gave me the energy I needed.”
“Energy for what?” he asked.
“This,” I said, and let my robe fall to the floor. I was naked underneath it. “Come and get me.” I took off for the bedroom.
He was only a couple of steps behind me and caught me before I reached the bedroom door.
“You’re in trouble now,” he growled.
I grinned as he picked me up and put me on the bed. His mouth immediately went to my nipples and I squirmed underneath him.
“I like this kind of punishment,” I said, in between breaths.
Anthony continued to punish me until we were both coming and breathing heavily.
“That was fun,” I said giggling.
“Give me a few minutes and we’ll do it again.”
“Mmmm, I like the sound of that.”
Anthony’s phone rang and he ignored it. But after it rang for the third time, he decided to answer it. It was a very short conversation.
“I have to go to the main house,” he said, getting up. “My dad needs me for something.”
“Right now?”
“I guess. I’ll be back in five minutes, ten tops.”
“I’ll be waiting,” I said, and checked the time on my phone.
A few minutes later, I got out of bed and got dressed. When I looked at the time, I noticed he’d been gone for twenty-minutes. After another ten minutes went by, I decided to go looking for him.
I kind of remembered the way in the main house, but I wasn’t sure where he was. Then I heard Anthony’s voice and went that direction. I was just about to go into the room, but I stopped when I heard his father say my name.
“You did what?” Anthony yelled.
“I had West Security do a background check on her and got them to prove something to me,” Mr. Pagano said.
“Prove what exactly?” Anthony asked.
“That she wasn’t a gold digger after our money.”
I felt sick.
“Stop, just stop,” Anthony said. “She’s not after our money. She didn’t even know who I was. I picked her up at the club, not the other way around.”
“I know that now,” his dad said. “That kid of West’s got her to talk and when I listened to the recording, I understood that she had no idea who you were or what our business was.”
When I realized who he was talking about, I instantly felt sick to my stomach. West’s kid was Bodie.
“I have plans for her dad, don’t fuck this up for me,” Anthony growled.
I couldn’t listen to anymore. My heart was racing, and I was sure I was going to throw up. I had to get out of there. I ran back to the guest house. My hands were shaking so bad, I could hardly open the door. It seemed to take forever for me to find my purse and phone, but in reality, it was only a couple of minutes. When I had them in my hands, I ran out of the house, down the long driveway and out to the road. I kept running when I reached the sidewalk and ran until I was out of breath, then I called Major.
“Hello?” he said confused.
“I need you to pick me up?” I said, breathing heavily.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Physically yes, I just need to get away from here.”
“Where are you?”
“I don’t know exactly, give me a minute to find the cross streets.” I walked to the end of the block and told him where I was.
“I know it,” he said. “We’ll be there in fifteen-minutes, if not sooner.”
“Okay. I’m going to keep walking up Cherry Street,” I told him.
“Okay, be safe, Karma.”
I hung up and kept walking. What I overheard was playing on repeat in my brain. Anthony’s dad thought I was a gold digger and had West Security prove I wasn’t, and Bodie was involved and didn’t say anything. I was so angry I could hardly see straight, but underneath the anger I felt betrayed. How could Bodie do that to me?
My phone started ringing, it was Anthony. I didn’t answer. I had no idea what to say to him at the moment. It sounded like he didn’t know but right now I wasn’t sure what was true and what was a lie. He called three more times and each time I let it go to voicemail. I decided to send a text.
Me: I’m fine, but I left. I heard the conversation you had with your dad.
He responded immediately.
Anthony: I didn’t know anything about it
Me: I know, but I can’t deal with it right now
Anthony: Where are you? I’ll come get you.
Me: I have a ride
Anthony: Who?
Me: Someone I trust
Me: I need to be away from your place right now
Anthony: Ok. Call me later?
Me: I don’t know
I heard a honk and looked up from my phone to see Major’s truck coming down the road. I got in the back seat and felt a little relief at the prospect at getting out of this neighborhood.
“What’s going on?” Kayleigh asked.
“I need to talk to Bodie,” I said. “Where is he?”
“I think he was going to his parent’s place for some family dinner,” Major said.
“Take me there,” I said.
“Can this wait?” he asked.
“Nope. The longer I wait the more likely it is that I’ll kill him.”
“Uh, okay then,” Major said, and started driving.
I saw him text someone, probably Bodie, but I didn’t care. I was going to confront Bodie, no matter where he was.
****
Bodie
I was sitting in the living room with my mom and sister when my phone dinged with a text.
Major: On the way there with Karma. She’s pissed. Be prepared.
“Fuck,” I whispered to myself. “When is dad going to be home?”
“Should be any time now,” mom said. “Why?”
“I think there’s a storm on the way and I need him to help me with it.”