Good Girl (28 page)

Can I be monogamous?

With her, yes.     

So why did the thought scare him so
much? It was the idea of putting everything he had into one person. To build a
life together, and trust that he wouldn’t screw up like his dad did, or even
worse that she would have to work as hard as his mom did just to survive. He
didn’t want to have kids if they were going to have to struggle as much as he
did when he was a kid.

What Kali wanted went smack in the face
of all his fears. How could she be so hopeful to think two people could make it
together for the long haul? Granted, both their parents were together, but the
sacrifices they each made to make it work weren’t worth it. Were they?

It was after dark when Hunter finally
caught the subway home, still deep in his thoughts. He felt opened up,
vulnerable. Like a kid again.

Kali had that affect on him, peeling him
open like an onion, leaving only the tender heart exposed. He had to love her.
It was like a force of nature.

Suddenly he couldn’t wait to get home to
look at his drawings of her. Her face. Her eyes. Her hands. The curve of her
neck. He had drawn her from every angle, in every light.

When he got home, he pulled out his
books and ripped out the pages, surrounding himself with her image. Her smile.

Her smile.

That was Kali. Good hearted, loving,
giving, smart, funny, ready to do whatever it took to get the job done.

He held the portrait up to his face,
breathing deeply as if he could smell her on the pages.

“Kali…” he murmured.

There was a knock on the door. His head
went up like a shot.

Wild with hope, thinking only of Kali,
he ran to the door.

It was Minx.

Her hair was purple today and done up in
a red bandana. She didn’t have much makeup on, which was unusual for her. But
her combat boots and Hello Kitty t-shirt were typical of her style.

Hunter couldn’t pull himself together
quickly enough. He was exposed, his hope deflating. And Minx saw it all.

He backed away, but he shouldn’t have
because Minx followed him inside, shutting the door behind her. He could only
stare at her, lost in confusion that she wasn’t Kali. He’d known Minx for years,
but right now she felt like a stranger.

“May I speak, Sir?” she asked.

“You don’t have to ask,” he managed to
say. He couldn’t be the master with Minx. He promised Kali he wouldn’t. But
that’s what he had done when Minx came over last time. He had not stopped her
when she sat on the floor, for one thing. And he let her ask permission to
speak. And the other things that kept their relationship so formal.

She followed him into the main area of
his studio. The floor was covered by images of Kali. Kali, over and over again

Minx bent down and picked up a few,
looking at them closely. “She is beautiful. There’s something transcendent
about her.”

“She’s true to herself.” He began to
gather up the drawings. It was almost a sacrilege for Minx to touch them. She
started to help him, but he said, “No, let me do it.”

She stood there watching him on his
hands and knees gathering up the pictures and placing them carefully in a black
portfolio. He laid it on the table, his hand resting on it like he didn’t want
to let it go.

“I’ve never seen you like this before,”
Minx finally said.

He looked down at the portfolio. “I love
her.”

There were a few moments of silence.
When he looked up, Minx’s eyes were filled with tears. “Do you, really?” she
asked.

“Yes.”

“I didn’t think you could.”

His throat closed. “Neither did I.”

Minx tried to smile. “But she knows what
kind of man you are. She can’t expect you to change for her.”

“Minx, I need to get my collar back from
you.”

Her mouth opened. “Seriously?”

He was a little surprised that he didn’t
feel the least bit of regret. He used to be so hot for Minx. He used to fuck
her like mad. She was the perfect sub, he always thought. He knew her body so
well, every nook and cranny, and could push her as hard as he dared in lots of
different ways.

As if remembering the same thing, she
slowly sank to her knees in front of him. Giving herself to him with her eyes.
Both her hands went to the collar of her shirt and she ripped it with a
convulsive move. There were tears on her cheeks. “Let me please you, master.
You know I can give you what you want.”

It left him cold. All he could think
about was Kali, and how betrayed she would feel to find Minx here like this.

“Minx, you have to leave now.” He kept
himself from barking out the order, like a master would. He refused to take
that role with her. “It’s wrong for you to act this way, now that I’ve released
you.”

Shaking her head, she seemed confused.
But when he didn’t say anything else, she finally struggled to her feet. “But I
thought you wanted it.”

“Please drop off your collar later
through the slot.” He went to open the door, and waited until she gathered her
torn t-shirt in front of her. She left with a hurt, angry look at him.

He didn’t care if she was still staying
at Jeremy’s or not. He didn’t care that she was walking around in basically her
bra. He hadn’t asked her to throw herself at him after he requested her collar
back.

It was Minx’s own fault if she got into
trouble because of it. But as he opened the portfolio to look at Kali’s image,
he had to admit to himself—he was also to blame. Why should Minx believe he was
serious when he had never had a real intimate relationship with
her
? He
had always kept Minx at arm’s distance. She had accepted it, but now he
wondered why.

It seemed so empty now that he had been
with Kali. He wasn’t sure how he could go on now that she had imprinted herself
on his soul.

Chapter 19

Kali kept checking, but it was nearly
nine o’clock that night before Hunter took down his website and FetLife
profile. She breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t know what she would have
done if he hadn’t listened to her.

The fact that he hadn’t fought her on it
made her feel better. He did respect her opinion. Sometimes.

Now she just needed to get through the
next few days, and hope nobody exposed Hunter’s kinky side business.

From the window in front of Selina’s
desk, she watched him all day on Wednesday down on his hands and knees
polishing the number on each medallion with a power buffer. By the time he got
to the third one, she could see the sun winking off the brilliant shine. It
really caught the eye, and made each number stand out clearly.

It was exactly what the sundial needed.

Later that day, she was checking the
delivery of tall cocktail tables that would be sprinkled under the half-circle
portico of the building. Two bars would be set up at either end, and a
finger-food buffet would be laid out next to them. She had sent out 200
invitations to the press and city note-worthies, and hoped 50 would show up.
She planned on spending all day Thursday calling people to make sure they would
come. She wanted to give it the personal touch that Selina couldn’t. Luckily
the fallout from Selina’s video had been limited to a couple of gossip columns,
but Kali had to be sure she left no stone unturned in making this event a
success.

As she approached the door, she saw a
guy planting red and orange flowers in the two round planters in front of the
entryway. “Who told you to do that?” she asked.

“Mr. Munro. He was very specific on what
shades of red and orange for us to bring to match the SunTech logo.”

“Oh. Thank you.” She stepped back as far
as she could, and had to admit that Hunter had a good eye. The red and orange
would pick up the logo in the banner she was placing over the central arch in
the portico that led to the doorway.

She could hear the buzz of his polisher
on the other side of the fence. She wanted to go in and thank him for thinking
of such a nice touch. But she was avoiding him as much as she could.

She made herself walk away from the
fenced-off area, checking the rest of the details on her clipboard. When she
was done, she hesitated near the gate in the fence, wanting to go in and speak
to Hunter. But that feeling was treacherous. Not to be trusted.

With a supreme effort, she got herself
back upstairs and buried herself in work. She was still there late, tying up
the last details when a delivery arrived for her. She opened it up to find pork
dumplings and spicy pork rolls and a custard sweet that she recognized from the
little Chinese shop where Hunter had taken her the evening they went to the
Conservancy Garden.

Kali ate up every bit of it. She hadn’t
realized how famished she was. She was sure it was Hunter who sent it, though
there was no note. But that meant he was also still here, and was thinking
about her. She almost dreaded what would happen when she left. She didn’t want
to argue with him anymore.

But to her pleasant surprise, Hunter wasn’t
lying in wait. Her shoulders relaxed as she headed off to the subway. She hated
the fact that she had been dreading seeing him, and she was grateful that he
finally wasn’t pushing himself on her. Sending up food for her was nice and
helpful. Planting the flowers was nice and helpful. Not ambushing her when she
left work was nice and helpful.

She went home and slept well for the
first time since she had broken up with him.

The next morning, the fence came down. People
gathered under the portico of the building to see the reveal. She watched
Hunter on the other side of the plaza directing everything.

As the plywood came down, the plaza
opened up and they could see the sundial and the benches placed in a half circle
around it. The medallions glinted in the light. And the long needle of the
sundial also glinted where Hunter has polished the edge of it.

She let out her breath. “Ohhh….”

“It’s so beautiful!” someone said next
to her.

Kali was proud to be a part of creating
this public space. The sundial suited the concave glass building so well, with
its retro-portico running the length of the half-circle along the ground floor.
The sundial itself was an old-fashioned idea, but the geometric shapes brought
it into the modern age.

The last of the plywood panels were
being loaded onto the truck, when Hunter came over to her. “What do you think?”
he asked.

“It couldn’t be more perfect for the
plaza.”

“That was the idea. To bring two very
different things together and make you see them both in a new way.”

She had to smile at his innuendo. “Are
you talking about us or the sundial?”

“Both. I think we’re better together
than apart.”

He looked so vulnerable. Like nothing
she’d ever seen before. She wanted to put her arms around his neck and sink her
fingers into his hair. And kiss him. Finally he wanted to talk and she wanted
nothing more than to touch him and hold him. “Hunter… I don’t know what to
say.”

“Say you’ll think about it. I promise
you monogamy. I don’t want any other woman. And I don’t want you to be my
slave. Or my submissive. You’re my lover, and I want to love every inch of you.
With as much or little kinkiness as you want.”

“Hunter, that’s not you! I can’t ask you
to change who you are.”

He gave a short laugh. “Too late. You’ve
already changed me. I don’t want Minx. I want more. I want you.”

She suddenly realized they were standing
shock still on the plaza, talking intently. Staring into each other’s eyes.
With lots of people around, including SunTech employees.

“I can’t do this here,” she said,
turning away. “I can’t. I told you. You work for me.”

“I’m sorry, Kali. I just couldn’t help
telling you.” He backed away, smiling wistfully. “I love you, Kali.”

With that, he turned and called out to
some of his men to start cleaning up the plaza.

That was the first time he said it to
her. She kept hearing his words, the tone of his voice, low and real. Like he
was speaking from the center of his being.

Tomorrow was the launch party.

After that, the project would be
finished and Hunter would no longer be employed by SunTech.

Kali went inside and up to her desk. All
she could think about was tomorrow was the end.

She had just been getting used to the
terrible idea that Hunter had been a fling. A life-changing, never-to-be-forgotten
affair. Something that was doomed from the start and went out in a blaze of
glory. They would always have the sundial, and every time she saw it, she would
remember Hunter.

She stared at the tropical flowers he
had sent on Monday. They smelled so strong they overpowered the office.

Could she risk letting him overpower
her, as well? Could she take a chance and fling herself off the cliff and hope
there was water below?

Could she really do it to herself again?
It hurt so badly already. What if she really gave it a try, and found Minx
sitting at his feet in another month’s time?

And was it fair to ask him to change
that much? Could he, even if he wanted to?

***

Late that night, her phone rang. For a second,
she thought it was Hunter and her heart leaped in eagerness.

Then she saw the phone. It was her mom.

Well it’s about time.
A flash of anger burned through her.

It had been nearly three weeks since she
saw her mom, since their fight over Hunter. It was the longest they had ever
gone without Kali trying to call her. Usually, she wore down under her mom’s
silence, and reached out to her before now.

This was the first time her mom had
reached out first.

Kali let the phone keep ringing. It felt
good to be in charge for once with her mom. Let her leave a message. Let her
make an effort.

When she checked, there was no message.
Her mom must have hung up when she didn’t get an answer.

Kali felt perversely glad.

Usually her mom would leave a
soft-voiced order, “Call me when you get this, Kali.” And Kali would call her
back within minutes.

She sat there looking at her phone,
smiling slightly. What was Jenny thinking? Was she waiting for Kali to see the
number and call her back?

She hummed a bit as she went to wash her
face and get ready for bed. Her mom knew her routine. She knew Kali was sleepy
and yawning, planning to go to bed on time to be bright and ready for
tomorrow’s big launch. Her mom didn’t know that Selina had been fired and Kali
was in charge. And she didn’t know Kali had broken up with Hunter.

The last thing she wanted to do was get
in an argument with her mom and get all riled up before bed. She decided she
wouldn’t call her mom back.

Let her stew
.
Everyone who thinks I’ll do whatever they want, can fuck off!

With that, she turned off the light and
went to bed.

***

The next morning, her phone rang just as
her alarm was going off. Groggy, she reached for her phone. “Hello?”

Then she looked. It was her mom.

“Did I wake you, dear?” Jenny sounded exactly
like she usually did. Like nothing had happened. Like it hadn’t been weeks
since they last spoke. “I wanted to wish you luck on your big day. You have the
launch party tonight, right?”

“It’s this afternoon.” Kali yawned. “The
sundial looks beautiful. I’ll send you a photo later.”

There were a few moments of silence, as
if her mom was surprised by Kali’s nonchalance. “Are you still dating the
artist?”

“Hunter? Yes,” Kali lied blandly. She
wasn’t going to let her mom get a moral victory by telling her they had broken
up.

Again a few moments of silence.
“Really?” Jenny asked. “Because you sounded funny when you said that.”

Kali had to smile. Her mom knew her so
well. “We’re going together to the launch party.” She felt bold and reckless.
Who cared if her mom knew she was lying?

“Okay.” Her mom sniffed. “If that’s what
you want, Kali. But it seems to me that you aren’t thinking about the risk
you’re taking by being with someone like that. What if you get pregnant? You’ve
seen what a struggle I’ve had with your dad all these years—“

“Mom, stop. I don’t want to hear it.”

“What? Kali…”

“I don’t want to hear you criticize dad.
If you hate the way he is, then leave! Tell him not to come home. It’s not like
it would be a problem for you financially since you’re doing it all anyway. But
stop complaining about him to
me
.”

“Kali!” Jenny was shocked.

“I’m serious. I don’t want to hear it
anymore. You’ve been with dad for nearly twenty-five years. When are you going
to start making the best of it?” Kali glanced at the clock. “Listen, I’ve got
to go. There’s lots to do at work. I’ll talk to you later.”

With that, she hung up. And felt better
than she had in a very long time.

***

Kali wore her chic black suit and her
most comfortable high heels, and went to work. The party planner Selina had
hired knew her stuff, and by three o’clock according to the sundial, the wine
bars and buffets were set up and black-suited waiters were ready to pass trays
with tiny bites of food on them. There was a nice scattering of tall tables
under the portico with the center left open to showcase the sundial.

Kali had ordered velvet ropes to
separate the open front of the plaza from the sidewalk. Several guards were
standing at either end keeping an eye on the long ropes, to keep people from
stepping over them and getting to the open bars.

There was already a crowd of people
standing at the ropes, curious about what was going on. It was creating quite
the buzz. Kali could feel the excitement in the plaza beginning to rise as she
checked through the last things on her list. She had her own earpiece so the
hostess at the ropes could alert her when particular notables or members of the
press arrived.

Through it all was Hunter, a calm
presence talking to everyone as if he hadn’t a care in the world, and pitching
in where needed. His job was almost done. His photo would be taken repeatedly
tonight—and she hoped printed in papers and all over the Internet. If she had
done her job right, it would happen that way.

Kali was still worried that some last
minute disaster would happen. She especially feared Hunter’s kinky sex business
would be dropped like a bomb in the midst of their publicity blitz.

The whirlwind of activity swept her up,
and before she knew it, Amanda, the party planner was gently straightening
Kali’s collar. “Time to launch!”