You could see the living room, my bedroom, my momma’s bedroom, and the bathroom from the entrance. The only room you couldn’t see the door to was the kitchen, and that was because you had to walk through the living room to get to it. Thanks to my momma’s smoking habit the place smelled like stale smoke, but it was clean. Momma wasn’t one for filth.
Mrs. Stone’s nose visibly scrunched, like she was smelling something bad. I didn’t notice the smell much since I’d lived with it, but I knew that to those not around it, it smelled bad. I was suddenly wishing I had made her stay outside and just walked out there to talk to her.
“I’m not here to waste my time. I have the jet waiting at the airport, so let me get to the point,” she said, turning to level her haughty glare at me. “You won’t do for Jason. I realize Jax will end up marrying beneath him, but he is a celebrity and will be a legend. He can make as many mistakes as he wants, and his success is intact. However, Jason is different. He can’t get involved with someone like you.” She let her gaze flicker to the blue sofa that I knew was worn and old—but again, it was clean.
“Jason has a bright future. He’s brilliant and he has connections. In the world of politics, Jason can’t have skeletons like you in his closet. You won’t help him reach his goal. You’ll only bring him down. He’s been in love with Johanna since he was a child. Johanna was groomed to be the wife of a senator. She has grown up in the home of one of the best. I know she will be willing to overlook Jason’s baser urges that led him to you. But it has to stop before you affect his life any more. His grades can’t suffer, and he will attend that cotillion this weekend as her escort. It’s too important for him. If you hold him back, he will hate you for it later. I’ve dealt with your kind before, and I know you don’t go away easily. I’ll have one hundred thousand dollars wired to your account within the day. In return, you need to end it with him and disappear from his life. Do whatever you need to do to send him away if he comes back.”
I had seen this in a movie once. But having it actually happen to you was different. The dirty way it made you feel was indescribable. To think someone expected you to take the money and agree to something like this was like a slap in the face. Several slaps in the face.
She had seen my home and assumed I was in this for the money, because someone like her couldn’t fathom that I would have the ability to love someone more than money. Being poor didn’t mean I was soulless. I managed to shake my head no. Words had left me as I stared in horror at this woman who had given birth to the most beautiful, kind, giving, selfless person I knew. How was that possible?
“You’ll change your mind.” She handed me a small card. “Call me when you realize the stupidity of your decision. Unless he’s tired of you by then. I may not have to give you a dime. Now that Johanna knows she has competition, she’ll be working extra hard to make him happy,” Mrs. Stone said with an evil smirk.
She turned and walked out the door without another word. I stared at her back until she climbed into the limo and drove away. Reaching for the handle, I closed the door, then looked down at the card in my hand. She had left me her contact information. I wanted to burn it, but I didn’t. As much as I didn’t want to tell Jason about this, I feared that I needed to. I didn’t trust her. I wanted him to know that I had never accepted this from her, if it got back to him.
Needing to hear his voice, I walked to my room and dropped the card to my desk before picking up my phone. I wasn’t sure if he would be in class right now, but I could at least hear his voice mail.
It rang three times, and then a female answered. She was giggling and telling someone no. I just sat there and listened to her. She said hello again, but I was still too confused to speak.
“Jason is indisposed at the moment. You’ll need to call back later,” she said before hanging up.
I didn’t need someone to tell me who that had been. I just needed Jason to explain it to me. Apparently, Johanna was more than he had admitted to. There had to be some truth to his mother’s words. I knew that already. He had feelings for Johanna. I’d already come to terms with it.
Was he in love with her? Was that it? He couldn’t love me, because he loved her, and he was sewing his wild oats first. The idea of being his wild oats made me want to curl up in a ball and die.
JASON
“Give me the damn phone, Jo,” I demanded, snatching it out of her hands and shoving it in my pocket. I needed another study group. Seeing Jo pissed me off after her duplicity with my mother. She had known calling my mom would send my nosy mother to Alabama looking for me.