Naked and Defiant (13 page)

"I never indicated that it was. I was simply
attempting to be pleasant."

"Daddy, please! Now is not the time to fight.
How is your foot?" Jade asked, still clinging to her father's
waist.

"Good. X-rays showed there was nothing left
inside the wound, thanks to you. They didn't have to debride or
restitch it, so that made me happy."

"Are you aware that your daughter sutured Mr.
Badger's foot?" the other man asked.

"This is Jon Levner, one of my board
members," Griffon said. "He is the one who found us and brought us
back to the mainland."

"My daughter knows nothing about first aid.
In fact, she becomes squeamish at the sight of blood."

"I do not. I sewed him up myself, after
trying to poison him with kava tea," Jade said moodily.

Griffon shook his head. "You have a wonderful
little lady here, Brockton. Please take care of her, and don't let
her be anything less than she is capable of. Jade, thank you."

"Wait! Are you going somewhere?"

"I have to get back to the states. I have a
company to run. That is why the boat showed up early. A contract
came in that needed my approval and they could not reach me by
radio. They had a three-day clause that, if I did not respond, they
were to come find me."

"Thank you for everything, Griffon. I will
never forget what you did for me." Jade extended her hand to
capture his.

"Be good to yourself." Griffon kissed her
cheek. "I initiated a search for Simon. Once he is caught, he will
go to trial. My attorneys will contact you about the details
regarding our communication. Good-bye."

Jade watched the man as he exited her room,
not aware of her tears. Her father patted her shoulder, and his
eyes narrowed as he watched Griffon depart.

"You've been through a terrible experience,
baby. Let's get you home and bring some comfort back into your
life."

Jade nodded, numbly. She did not want
comfort. She wanted Griffon.

***

"Is there anything else we can get you,
Jade?" Mr. Brockton asked, as the butler pulled the chair out for
her at the big dining-room table.

Jade shook her head, gazing over the
tremendous array of dishes. "Daddy? It is just the two of us. Why
do we have to have all this? Most of it is going to go to
waste."

"You have been without anything decent for a
month. You have lost weight, and I am concerned for your
health."

"I lost ten pounds that I did not need, and
am more toned physically than I have ever been in my life. As for
decent food, Griffon taught me how to eat like a queen. I can fish,
gather all different kinds of fruit and vegetables, cook over a
fire that I had to keep going, make a shelter than can withstand a
storm, hunt… Daddy, I learned how to survive without all this
stuff."

"I know, baby. I'm so sorry …."

"No! Don't you get it? I liked it. I know you
don't care for Griffon because of your business dealings with him,
but he really helped me discover myself. I had something important
to do with my life every single day, and it felt good." She pushed
away from the table and stood. "I want to go back to school."

"Sit down and eat, honey. You don't need to
go to school. You will never have to work …."

"School can provide me with something your
money can't. An education. I loved to learn all these new things,
and I want to learn more. I am going to start applying to colleges
and do this thing. For me."

"Jade, darling, you are still traumatized by
the isolation. You need to calm down."

"The only trauma I am experiencing right now
is this gastric upset from being forced to eat crap. Belkes!" Jade
shouted to the butler.

"Yes, Miss Jade?"

"For now on I am going to do the grocery
shopping. I am also going to make my own meals. Daddy, you are
going to eat what I cook and you are going to learn how to like
it."

"What has gotten into you, child? Do you need
to lie down for a while? Belkes, help Jade to her room …."

"I am not going to my room. I am going to
take a jog and then start applying for college. I am going to
become someone that I can be proud of."

Jade grumbled as she began to trot down the
street. Her shoes hurt her feet, as did the hard concrete she was
running on. She stopped to remove her sneakers and continued her
jog on the grass next to the walkway. It still did not feel
'right'. Nothing felt right anymore. Especially since Griffon was
not there beside her. Frustrated, she returned to the luxurious
mansion that she had called home since she was a child. She stood
outside, looking on the glorious white columns that framed a
marbled entryway. This place was no longer home. It was a prison.
Jade finally understood what Griffon had shared with her about the
joy of a simple life.

***

"Jade? I made an appointment for you. Before
you argue with me, give me a chance to explain," her father
said.

Jade looked up from the survival manual that
she was studying. "Daddy, I do not need a therapist. There is
nothing wrong with me spending my time learning something, instead
of spending the money that you won't let me touch."

"You are unstable, darling. I had to cut you
off because you kept talking about running back to those islands or
doing something even more foolish."

"Foolish? Like going back to school? Do you
really think holding me captive here is going to change who I am
inside? The only reason I am not fighting you is because I am
trying to honor Griffon's request about protecting my reputation,
so that I can testify against that douche-bag Simon."

"It has been two months since you were
stranded. You refuse to eat anything that isn't made over an open
fire. You walk around barefoot and wear loose shirts and shorts, no
makeup and your hair in a ponytail. You
jog
!" Mr. Brockton
exclaimed. "The list is endless, Jade! You never talk to your
friends; you spend every minute reading books about how to cook
lizards and rats. This is not normal, Jade! You have changed
drastically, and I am afraid for you."

"You need to understand that I have changed,"
Jade said." This adventure revealed something about myself that I
never knew existed. This is a good thing, Daddy. Please do not try
to take it away from me."

"Well, we will see what the doctor says."

"I don't care what your doctor says," Jade
huffed. "I care about what I need to do. When this whole thing with
Simon is over, I am leaving. I need to find a life for myself."

"Young woman, you either cooperate or you
will never see another penny of my money again. I will not have you
abuse the privileges you have been given."

Jade laughed in his face, leaning back in her
chair and flipping her hand behind her head. "Are you serious? Do
you really think that losing your money is going to scare me? What
are you so afraid of? Do you think I am going to embarrass you once
I am allowed into public again?"

"You are a sick little girl. I don't know
what that man did to you out there, but I swear that I will not let
this happen!" Brockton shouted. He snatched her book from her hands
and raised it in the air. "No more of this! March your ass
upstairs, put on a dress, and do something with your hair and face.
I don't want to look at this … this savage any longer."

"You would rather look at a doll? What the
hell is wrong with you?"

"Don't you ever speak to me like that again.
Do you hear me?" her father growled.

"Or what? You'll cut me off? You won't let me
leave this house? What?"

"You will never see Griffon Badger again. I
will bury him with legal issues so deep that he won't ever
recover," the man hissed. "To start with, I will sue him for
forcing himself on you."

"He did not do anything like that, and you
know it. If it wasn't for him, I would be dead."

"You have clearly fallen in love with that …
that American! He has polluted your mind and your heart."

"I am
not
in love with Griffon Badger.
As for his influence, have you forgotten his rep? Griffon Badger
don't give a shit … about anything. That reputation is earned
because he doesn't care about anything or anyone except himself. I
don't give a damn what happens to him," she lied, calling his
bluff. "But I would be concerned about what happens to you and your
reputation when the media finds out how you have treated me."

"Do you really think you can go head-to-head
with me, little girl?" the man hissed, "I am a powerhouse in the
business industry for a reason. I don't back down, and I always get
what I want. Did you forget that? Did you?!"

Jade flinched, for a moment losing her nerve.
His words reeked of truth. Her father was known to be ruthless in
business and did not care whom he stepped on in the process.

"You are my father. Are you actually telling
me that you would turn your power against me so that you can keep
me under your thumb? You call that love? Or is this a way to get
even because Griffon Badger threw your contract into the trash
after you tried to cheat him? Oh yeah, I know all about that, so
don't look so surprised. Well, Father-dearest …" She stood, lifting
her chin proudly, "I will comply until I find a way to leave you.
And when I do," she began to walk away, "it will be forever."

She ignored his shouts for her to return,
closing the door to her bedroom behind her. She stripped her
clothes, leaving them on the floor, and pulled a silk dress from
her closet. The price tag was still attached and she shuddered,
thinking of how Griffon would have responded if he had seen it.

"Oh, Griff, you were right. You were right
about my dad and you were right about me. You have ruined me for
this life. I could pay for a semester of college with this," she
sighed, slipping the filmy dress over her head. It was loose on
her, and she smiled. At least she had not gained any of the weight
back, a fact which appeared to irritate her father. She folded her
long hair into a formal bun, applied makeup, and slipped on
four-inch heels. She winced as she stepped in front of the mirror
and looked at the stranger before her. She could hear Griffon's
voice in the back of her head, tsking with disapproval.

"It's only until I can find a way home, and
back to you," Jade whispered, thinking of the island. "I have to
play the game, if I am ever going to get out of here."

Just don't lose yourself in the
process
.

Her father narrowed his eyes as Jade
gracefully settled into an overstuffed chair in the living area.
"I'm glad to see you came to your senses. You will still see the
psychologist. I don't trust you to deal with this problem on your
own."

"The only problem here is you,
Father.
I will dress like you want, but that is where I draw the line. I
will not go back to sitting around like a slug, eating crap and
letting my mind go numb."

"You will do as I say. I will strip you of
everything that gives you a sense of freedom if you do not," the
man sneered: "no money, no phone, no Internet … you will learn what
a gilded cage feels like, if you aren't careful.

"I hate you," Jade sneered. "I hate you with
every breath I take."

Brockton looked startled. "You don't mean
that, Jade."

"Oh, yes I do. I will never forgive you for
what you are doing to me. You make Simon look like a saint. It is
no wonder that my mother could not wait to leave you."

"Jade …"

"I understand now. Did you do the same thing
to her to keep her in your clutches? Isolate her from the real
world so that you could keep her captive? All these years that you
kept me from her, it was to stop me from learning the truth about
you, wasn't it? You can't force me to stay here forever. In the
meantime, I will dress up like a little doll which will help remind
me how much you disgust me."

"Pardon, Sir," Belkes interrupted, nervously,
"Dr. Torrance is here to see Miss Jade."

"Put him in the study. We will be in
shortly."

"No,
Father
," Jade stood proudly, "if
I must speak to this quack, it will be out of your hearing. I
intend to tell him everything that you have threatened, including
preventing me from advancing my education. I am certain he would
love to hear that. Unless, of course, you have him in your pocket,
as well."

"Sweetheart, I am doing this for you. You
went through a terrible experience, alone with that man, in the
middle of nowhere. You don't understand …"

"I understand completely. Mother found a way
to escape your clutches, and I will too. Once that happens, you
will be the one who sees what it means to be alone."

"He poisoned you."

"He saved my life. Something that you have
forgiven, for a reason I cannot fathom, except that you are using
me as a chance to get even with him. That's it, isn't it? So he
told me the truth about you after all!"

"
His
truth, Jade. He reneged on a
contract that cost me a lot of money."

"He caught you cheating him and putting his
people in danger. Belkes? Please bring me some of that tea I
purchased, and a bowl of fresh fruit," Jade asked, gliding past her
stunned parent. She hid her trembling and entered the study to meet
the therapist.

"Griffon? Are you
okay?"

"No, Tasha, I'm not," Griffon said quietly,
as he stared out the window from the high-rise office building. I
hate the city."

His attorney rose and walked behind him. She
wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, her cheek
on his as she stared out the same window. "I know you do. You miss
that girl, don't you?"

He kissed her cheek and patted her arms.
"Yeah, I do. Every day away from her feels like forever. She was so
angry with me when we were picked up. I was awful to her."