Page 9

Four months. Could she do it? She straightened her spine and wrapped the robe tighter around her body. She was a survivor; she would survive. Simon had mentioned that sleeping with him wasn’t a requirement. It didn’t have to happen.
Kara took a deep breath, trying to relax her body. She’d do whatever she could to help Simonexceptsleep with him. She could cook, clean, help him out with whatever he needed to have done. Not having a job was going to leave her restless. There had to be other things she could do to repay him.
You want to. You know you want him.
She shook her head, trying to silence her wayward thoughts. Getting involved with Simon Hudson was not a good idea. The billionaire genius was the type who would leave her devastated after one night of passion. He had just proved it by rocking her world, and she hadn’t even had sex with him.
But now you know it would be one incredible night that you’d never forget.
And it would. That was her fear. It would be much too memorable.
Shaking her head, she suddenly remembered the clinic. She should have been there this morning.
Oh, shit. I have to call Maddie.How could I have forgotten?
Kara spent every Saturday morning volunteering at the free children’s clinic with Dr. Madeline Reynolds. It was something Kara had been doing every Saturday morning for the last year and although she wasn’t yet licensed as a nurse, she helped out by taking on every task she was capable of so that Maddie could see as many children as possible on clinic day.
Kara snatched up a cordless phone from the kitchen counter and hastily dialed the clinic number, explaining to Maddie what had happened and that she was sorry she didn’t make it.
“It’s not like you’re a paid employee, Kara, even though I appreciate the fact that you keep showing up to help. I’m fine for today. Are you okay? Do you need a place to stay?” Maddie’s voice was concerned and Kara’s heart lifted. Maddie was so generous, so caring…but she couldn’t impose on her friend. Kara knew that Maddie put every extra penny she had into the free clinic and she was fairly fresh out of medical school. Kara had heard Maddie say jokingly, more than once, that she would still be paying back student loans when she retired.
“Nope. I’m good. I have a…friend helping me out,” she replied, hoping her voice sounded normal.
There was a pause before Maddie told her sternly, “You call me if you need help, Kara. You will, won’t you?”
“I will. I promise. I’ll see you next Saturday.”
“Stay safe. If you ever find that bitch of an ex-roommate, feel free to call me. I’ll beat the shit out of her,” Maddie said, her voice indignant.
Kara laughed. “You’ll have to get in line. I’m pissed enough to do it myself.”
With a few more assurances to Maddie that she would be fine, Kara hung up with a sigh and headed through the condo, wanting to see what was left of her belongings.
You’ll make it. You’ve made it this far. Four months will be easy. Someday, you can replace whatever was taken.
A tingle went down her spine as she searched for the guest room that housed her meager belongings, sensing that the next four months would be more challenging than anything she’d ever faced before.
Poverty!
Loneliness!
Rejection!
Insecurity!
Fear!
They all looked like a piece of cake compared to several months with Simon Hudson.
Temptation was going to be a real bitch.
Over the next six days, Kara discovered that living with Simon was easy…as long as he got his way. She caught herself grumbling, more than once, about his overbearing attitude and take-charge tactics. Without question, the man was generous and she had already had several conniption fits over how much money he spent on her. Clothes, laptop, iPhone, iPod, iPad-Simon loved gadgets that began with ani-and anything he thought was essential to her well-being. She had tried to patiently explain that she had lived well enough without those things before, but Simon simply grunted and soon gave her another so-called essential item, all of which were definitely not necessities.
The only fight that she had actually won was the argument about him buying her a car. Kara had put her foot down and refused, telling him that she preferred to take the bus. Honestly, she hadn’t really won that argument either. The only reason he had relented was because he had his driver, a delightful man named James, take her to school every day and pick her up again after class or clinicals. James seemed to be at Simon’s beck and call, even though Simon drove himself to the office every morning in a Bugatti Veyron. Kara had almost choked the first time she saw the outrageously expensive sleek automobile, a car that she actually had only seen previously in photos. Simon shrugged, telling her that Sam had one too, only Sam’s was newer, a fact that seemed to irritate Simon whenever his precious vehicle was mentioned. Kara had rolled her eyes at him and walked away. Honestly, he was just like a boy…only richer-a lot richer-and his toys a hell of a lot more expensive.
Nina, Simon’s personal assistant and another employee to whom she’d taken an instant liking, delivered Kara’s new clothes early the previous Saturday morning. And she hadn’t come alone. It had taken a string of strong, able-bodied men to trail in with a whole new wardrobe that definitely hadn’t come from Walmart or a normal discount store. Kara now had a huge walk-in closet filled with expensive designer clothing, most of which she would probably never wear. For God’s sake, even the jeans were designer and expensive. Every item fit perfectly. Simon had checked the soiled clothes in her backpack to get her size. The clothing incident had been the first experience of many that was teaching Kara that Simon never did anything in a small way.
She had really balked when she saw how much money he had deposited into her checking account. How in the hell had the man found out her checking account number? He had just raised his shoulders again and told her to let him know when she needed additional funds and he would take care of it. Additional funds? He had transferred one hundred thousand dollars to her account, a fact that had nearly sent her into heart failure when she had checked her balance. An account that usually sat in the single digits had suddenly become an endless source of cash. How could anyone spend that much money in a few months? Kara had tried to get him to take most of it back. Having that much money in her account was actually a bit daunting and her needs were simple. She already had everything she needed and more, thanks to Santa Simon. Simon had just mumbled a curse and some statement about her being a stubborn woman and ignored her request. She had finally thrown her hands in the air and stomped away, muttering something about inflexible, arrogant men. A quiet chuckle had followed her out of the room and she had forced herself not to look back to see if Simon was smiling.