Love And Money (Love Series - Book 2) Read online

  Copyright 2016

  All Rights Reserved

  Chapter 1

  “Come with me to this charity thing tonight?” Olivia begs.

  “I don’t know, Liv. It’s not really my thing,” Harpers says while shaking her head.

  “Please. These charity events are so boring. It’s just a bunch of rich people sitting around, going on about all their money, and their expensive vacations. I would much rather stay home, but my parents are forcing me to go. Having you there will make the night tolerable. Having you there and being together will turn a boring night into a blast, I promise. Please come,” Olivia says and pouts. “Come on. You know you want to.”

  “I don’t have anything to wear,” Harper replies, while wondering what happens at a charity event, like she always does when Olivia invites her to one. She’s always declined Olivia’s invitations in the past, but for some reason, tonight she feels like she wants to go and find out if the rich really do just sit around and talk about all the money that they have

  “Really? You’re going to have to come up with a better excuse than that. You have seen my closet, right? I have more gowns than I can count. You know that we’re the same size, so there is definitely something in there that you can wear,” Olivia says, giving Harper her signature eye roll.

  Harper is well aware of what Olivia’s closet contains. She’s borrowed clothes from her best friend many times and she doesn’t plan on stopping. Olivia has the best of the best when it comes to clothes. Truth be told, Olivia has the best of the best when it comes to just about everything. All of her clothing is from the top designers in the fashion world and they usually come straight from the runway.

  Olivia’s closet is bigger than her apartment and contains more clothes than an average person could ever need or wear. Sometimes when she stands in her friend’s walk-in closet, it’s hard not to be completely jealous of all the beautiful fabrics that hang from the hangers in all their glory.

  Harper contemplates whether or not she wants to go to the charity event. She anticipates feeling completely out of place, but she can’t help but be curious about what happens at such events. She wouldn’t mind having a peek into the world of the rich and famous for a night.

  “Okay, I’ll go,” she says, giving in to her curiosity.

  “Awesome,” Olivia says excitedly. “Let’s go pick out a gown for you.”

  They search through the numerous gowns and it doesn’t take long for them to find the perfect gown for her. Harper falls in love with the gown the minute that she sees it. When she touches the material, it feels so soft against her fingertips and when she tries it on, it fits perfectly. It’s as if the gown was made specifically for her.

  “You look stunning. This gown is perfect for you,” Olivia says over her shoulder, while they stand in front of the mirror.

  “Thank you,” Harper says, admiring herself and taking in her silhouette. “How much did this cost?” she asks her friend.

  “Thousands,” Olivia says, unzipping the dress for her, so she can take it off.

  She gasps when she hears how much the gown costs. She has never worn anything so expensive and she probably never will again. The most she’s ever spent on a clothing item is a couple of hundred dollars and she had to save up for months to do it.

  “Okay, I’m going to jump in the shower and then you can take a shower after me,” Olivia says, grabbing some things and making her way into the bathroom that adjoins her bedroom.

  “Okay,” Harper replies, watching her friend disappear into the bathroom.

  When she hears the water start running in the bathroom, she takes off the expensive gown and carefully places it on Olivia’s bed. She admires the stitching and how the gown has been carefully crafted to perfection. She admires what having a lot of money is capable of buying.

  Her closet doesn’t contain anything close to what she will be wearing for the next few hours. Being to slide her body into the gown is literally a dream come true. She will never be able to afford to wear something of such extravagance on the salary of a waitress. She decides that she is going to enjoy the evening and what’s ahead, because she may never get another opportunity to do so again in the future.

  She plops down on the bed next to the beautiful gown and thinks about her life. She doesn’t come from money. She and her mother live in a small apartment and they barely make ends meet. She thinks of all the overdue pills that are hidden in the bottom drawer of her dresser, waiting to be paid. She and her mother barely live above the poverty line and there isn’t a day that goes by that they don’t worry about how they are going to keep up with the mounting costs of living.

  Her father left when she was very young and she hasn’t seen him since. He’s never tried to make contact and she doesn’t expect to ever see him again. After her father abandoned her and her mother, she and her mother have been struggling ever since.

  She and her mother have been completely happy since her father’s departure, but they haven’t had a lot of material things. Their apartment contains the bare necessities, but it’s home, and she wouldn’t rather be anywhere else. She doesn’t mind not having a lot, because she’s quickly learned that money doesn’t equal happiness. She is usually content with the way that her life is and she believes that her mother feels the same. They have each other and it’s been enough.

  Her friendship with Olivia is an unlikely one. They come from two totally different worlds, but their two worlds collided and have never broken apart. She and Olivia probably wouldn’t have ever met, but when they were both preteens, she was awarded a scholarship from her school to spend a summer at a posh summer camp because of her good grades. That is where she met Olivia and they have been inseparable ever since.

  Olivia has never ever made her feel like she was unworthy because she didn’t have a lot of money or come from a powerful family. The difference in the lives that they lead has never been an issue between them. Their friendship is about trust and loyalty – the things that matter in her opinion.

  The minute she and Olivia met, their personalities just meshed and the bond between them continues to grow every single day. She is thankful to have Olivia in her life and she believes that Olivia feels the same about her. Their friendship means the world to her.

  She can’t wait to go on this adventure with Olivia to the charity event and see what is required of the rich and the powerful. She wants to see if there is any difference in the way that people with money behave. She doesn’t believe there is, because of her relationship with Olivia, but her friendship is all she has to base her opinions on. She wants to see up close and personal if her beliefs are valid or if she’s been living in a fantasy world. She wants to see how her friend interacts with high society.

  When Olivia is finished showering, she quickly showers and returns to her friend’s side. They giggle and laugh like school girls as they get ready for the night. Their preparations are interrupted by a knock on Olivia’s bedroom door. Olivia’s stylist, who does hair and makeup, has arrived to make them picture perfect.

  As she sits in front of the mirror and watches as the stylist curls her hair, she can’t stop smiling. She has never been pampered like this in her life. Usually she has to do her own hair and makeup if she wants it done. She has never had someone come to her home and get her ready for a night out. Stylists are for the rich and the famous. Stylists are something she reads about in magazines. Stylists are for other people, never her, but tonight she is getting the star treatment. She feels like royalty.

  When the stylist is finished and she looks at the finished product in the mirror, she can’t believe what she sees. She doesn’t even look like herself. She can’t he
lp but touch her face and her hair because of the shock of her appearance. She tries not to be arrogant and conceited in her observation of herself, but she has to admit that she has never looked more beautiful.

  The stylist has done an amazing job and she is worth every single penny that Olivia is paying her. She spins around and admires her whole appearance. She is blown away by her reflection in the mirror. From the dress, to the makeup, to the hair – she looks absolutely fantastic. She takes her cell phone out and takes a picture of herself. She wants to remember this moment because she may never look so beautiful again.

  When the stylist has left, Olivia says, “She’s great, right?”

  “Great is an understatement. She is absolutely fabulous. She’s done an amazing job on both of us. She definitely knows what she’s doing. We both look incredible,” she gushes.

  “I know, right? The guys at this charity event won’t be able to stay away,” Olivia says, teasingly.

  “I don’t know about that,” Harper says, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

  She’s never been around rich men before. She wonders if the men she meets at the charity event will look down at her in disgust, when and if, they find out that she comes from a poor upbringing. Will they look at her as an inferior human being? Will they treat her like trash?

  She hopes not. She hopes that they see her simply for what she is – another human being with the same needs and feelings that they have. She doesn’t know if she will be able to handle it, if they reject her based on where she comes from.

  Being rejected will be a blow to her self-esteem at the very least. She believes that because she is breathing, she has value. That is what she firmly believes about every human being that walks the earth, regardless of race, creed, or stature in life. She can’t help but wonder if her feelings would be any different if she were born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

  She can’t help but secretly hope that where she comes from remains a closely guarded secret. She knows that Olivia and her parents aren’t going to bring it up to anyone, so she should be fine to blend in and just be another face in the crowd. She just wants to enjoy herself and fit in.

  “Harper, you look absolutely gorgeous and you are an absolutely gorgeous person. You need to stop questioning that and start believing it,” Olivia says and grabs her purse. “Let’s go and have a magical night. Let’s make it a night to remember.”

  “Okay,” Harper says, grabbing the purse that Olivia has let her use for the night and following her friend.

  When they reach the top of the stairs, Olivia links arms with her. They make their way downstairs arm-in-arm, chitchatting back and forth about what they expect from the night ahead. She is surprised when they step outside and a stretch limo is waiting for them and a driver is standing next to the car. She’s never been chauffeured anywhere in her life. If she wants to go anywhere, she has to get behind the wheel and drive herself.

  “We are going to have so much fun,” Olivia gushes, as the driver opens the car door for them.

  “I hope so,” she says, getting in the car and sliding across the cool leather seat, making room for her friend.

  “Oh, we will. Trust me. We are going to have the time of our lives,” Olivia says, getting in the car after her.

  As the driver gets in and the stretch limo sets off to take them to their destination, she starts to feel butterflies in her stomach. It’s the feeling she always gets when she embarks on journeys that she’s never been on before. She welcomes the feeling and accepts it. She is ready to experience every feeling, emotion, and sight that the night has to offer. She is going to take it all in and enjoy herself. She is not going to let any insecurities or fears get in the way of enjoying herself. She is going to allow herself to do as Olivia has said and have the time of her life.

  * * * * *

  Caden stands in the mirror and fixes his bowtie. He’d much rather stay home and work on some of the business projects that he has in the works, but his father insisted that he attend the charity function being held by his father’s business associate. Insisted probably isn’t the right word – demanded or forced seems more appropriate.

  “It’s for business,” his father always says when these functions come up. “It’s important that we go to these functions to network. These events are how we get business, keep business, and make our money,” his father always says, droning on.

  His father is probably right, but that doesn’t stop him from loathing them. He’s stopped trying to get out of attending them because he’s quickly found that his protests are futile. He’s tried many times in the past to avoid these events because despite what his father believes, he finds that he can’t help but to sum them up as useless and a pointless waste of time. His attempts to get out of going just make his father angry and make working with him an absolute pain. Dealing with his father’s anger is unbearable, so not going to the charity events means incurring the wrath of his father and he’s learned that it’s not worth the hassle.

  His father, Bill Mason, is a stern and controlling man. His father can be a very mean, and he’d even go as far as to say, an evil man. His father has been the way he is for as long as he can remember, but since his mother passed away, his father has gotten even worse with his bad behavior. His mother had a way of tempering his father’s behavior, his ego, and his insatiable need for money, but since she’s been gone, there is no stopping his father. He hates to admit it, but his father is out of control at times with his mean temper, but especially with his greed.

  His father’s main focus and goal in life is to acquire as much money as humanly possible before he dies. His father doesn’t care who he runs over to accomplish that goal. His father will cross someone without a second thought, and if you stand in his way, be prepared to suffer severe consequences. He’s convinced that his father would sell his own mother up the river, if it meant more money would find its way into his father’s pocket.

  His father is ruthless in his business dealings, which is probably why he’s been so successful. Emotion and empathy never factor into his father’s deals and his contracts. The only thing that matters is the bottom line. All his father cares about is how much money he is going to make and if there is no money to be made, his father is not interested.

  He and his father differ so much in the way that they approach life and business. He’s grown up working beside his father in their numerous businesses and he enjoys what he does, but unlike his father, it’s never been strictly about the money. Having a fat bank account balance is obviously very nice, but it is not the aspect of business that he enjoys so much.

  What he enjoys most about business is being able to provide work for families and being able to help others prosper. He enjoys being able to provide others with the means to have a wonderful life. He enjoys providing his and his father’s employees with income to drink and be merry.

  When he is conducting business affairs, he always has their employees in mind and their best interests are paramount. His father doesn’t see their employees in the same light as he does. His father sees their employees as tools and nothing more. His father sees their employees as objects - possessions that can be tossed aside at a moments notice if it affects their revenue, but he doesn’t see them like that. He sees their employees as valuable because he and his father wouldn’t be where they are without them. He is always aware of that fact and when it comes time to discuss issues that pertain to them, he always makes sure to push the issue to ensure that they are being well taken care of.

  He loves building things from the ground up. He loves watching his creations bloom, flourish, and succeed. He loves the growth and expansion side of business. He gets off on it. When a part of their businesses stagnates, that is when he comes alive. He attacks the stagnation like a shark, and he doesn’t relent or let up until he has solved the problem and sees the beginnings of growth again. When he sees the first signs of rejuvenation, he sits back and takes it in, like a breath of fresh air.

>   Fixing the businesses problems are his specialty and he does it very well. He believes that is the only reason why his father values him so much and pays attention to him at all. He believes that his father only speaks to him because of his ability to put more money in his father’s bank account. If he wasn’t able to grow the businesses in the way that he does, he doubts that his father would even give him the time of day. It’s a fact that troubles him deep in his soul, but he tries not to dwell on it, because it’s too frightening and saddening of a revelation to contemplate and digest.

  He also likes the interaction with different kinds of people that being in business offers. He gets to meet all kinds of different people and it satisfies his need for connection. He likes to explore the minds of other people that think differently than he does and he loves nothing more than to pick the brain of the brilliant people he gets to meet along the way.

  He likes providing people with services that they need and he enjoys offering those services at a fair price. He likes to believe that he’s making a difference in people’s lives. He likes to believe that he’s adding something positive to other’s existences and that helps him sleep at night. He likes to believe that he’s making a positive difference and he’s not going through his life living selfishly and trying only to meet his own wants and needs. He likes to believe that he’s leaving a positive imprint on the world, and that if he were to die tomorrow, he will have made a positive impact on his fellow man.

  He’s had many arguments with his father over price. He doesn’t believe in gouging the customer, but his father is all about maximum profit. Sometimes he wins the argument, but most times, his father has his way. His father’s domineering ways and refusal to compromise on price doesn’t stop him though. He keeps fighting and he will never stop. The customers are just as important as their employees are. He’s their only advocate and he takes the job very seriously. He will never stop fighting for them in the boardroom and he will never stop fighting for them against his father.