His Uptown Girl Page 8

  Tyler leaned toward her. “Where have you been? I was beginning to think you’d left.”

  “Of course I didn’t leave. My boss is here. I introduced him to Daddy, and then we had a few things to talk about.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Tyler made a snide laugh. “You introduced your father to that grease monkey?”

  Georgette gritted her teeth. “Bob isn’t a grease monkey. He’s co-owner of a registered, incorporated business.”

  Tyler snorted. “Okay. He’s a grease monkey with credentials. Come on, Georgette. Get serious.”

  “He’s worked very hard to get where he is. Give him some credit.”

  “I don’t extend credit to people like him.”

  “I don’t need to listen to this. You’ve dragged me to enough of these things, more than I even originally agreed to. Our arrangement is over. And I think you—”

  Her words were drowned out by the applause as the guest speaker approached the podium.

  Throughout the entire presentation, Georgette’s mind churned. All she could think about was how fast she could get out, and away from Tyler.

  It was a relief when the audience applauded the close of the speaker’s comments. Just as she reached under her chair for her purse, another voice sounded behind her.

  “Georgette, honey. There you are.”

  “Daddy! You startled me.”

  “I was looking for your boss, Mr. Delanio, but I couldn’t find him. I thought maybe he was with you.”

  “I think he went home.”

  “After we met, I made a few inquiries. No one seems to know who he is.”

  Georgette froze, then forced herself to smile graciously. “His company is very small.”

  “Exactly how small? Does he employ under fifty people?”

  “Yes, it’s well under fifty people. But it has good potential.” She moved to get away, but her father blocked her path.

  “I didn’t recognize the family name, and no one I knew recognized the name, either.”

  “It’s a first-generation company.”

  Georgette cringed as her father contemplated the implications. All his business associates were “old money.” Even their new ventures weren’t really “new,” because they were financed with that “old” money.

  Bob’s parents were Italian immigrants, having come to the country shortly before he was born. His father worked in a blue-collar factory job, and still had many years before he could retire. Bob expected to do the same, a lifetime of long hours and hard work.

  “It’s okay, Daddy. The company is stable and has an established client base.”

  Tyler’s laughter made Georgette flinch. “She’s right on that issue, William. As long as there are middle class people with low class cars, Bob Delanio will always have an established client base.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “He’s the Bob of Bob And Bart’s Auto Repair.”

  “I’ve never heard of it.”

  “And you likely never will, either. It’s not exactly a multi-national corporation.”

  “Tyler!” Georgette hissed. “What are you doing?”

  Tyler made a self-satisfied snort. “You don’t think that I just happened to appear in a neighborhood like that by accident, do you?”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “When your father said you got a job, I thought I’d find out what it was. No one seemed to know anything about it.”

  Georgette’s heart turned cold. What she had suspected was now confirmed.

  Tyler smirked. “I also did a little background check on your Bob and Bart. One look at their business history tells me that they only hired you for the potential financial backing you carry with your name.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Why else do you think they hired you? For your mechanical skills?”

  “Yes!”

  Beside her, her father gasped. “Mechanical skills?”

  Tyler continued. “Didn’t you think a background check would turn up who you were?”

  “They don’t have the money for a background check. They hired me because Bart knew the person I used as a reference on my résumé.”

  “Then they’re fools.”

  “They’re not fools. They’re honest working men. And they trust people they associate with.” Georgette bit her tongue. She knew her argument would go nowhere with Tyler. Tyler trusted no one. For that matter, neither did her father.

  Her father held up his hand for silence. “What do you mean, mechanical skills? I spoke to Mr. Delanio. He said that Georgette was his administrative assistant.”

  Tyler spun around. “I don’t know what Mr. Delanio calls an administrative assistant. All she does that’s administrative is type up invoices for the repair work Mr. Delanio and his partner do. They’re mechanics. Nothing more.”

  “That’s not true. I do more than that.”

  All the color drained from her father’s face. “You work for a couple of mechanics?”

  Tyler’s smirk returned. “She’s right there. She does do more than type up invoices. She’s also their spare mechanic.”

  “Spare mechanic?” her father sputtered, and then his face turned to stone. “Do you know what this looks like, my daughter accepting a job like that?” He buried his face in his hands. “My daughter is a mechanic. I’ll be a laughingstock.” He dropped his hands and glared at her. “How could you do this to me?”

  “I didn’t do anything to you. I did something for me for the first time in my life. No one has to know.”

  Her father waved one hand in the air, something he only did when he was very, very angry. “What were you thinking? Of course people will find out. Tyler found out.”

  Only because Tyler had been following her that day he first showed up at her job. His intent had been solely to curry favor with her father by relaying information about her. However, Tyler had discovered a better way to take advantage of his ill-found knowledge, much to her dismay. What she didn’t understand was why Tyler had suddenly decided to divulge what he knew.

  “Tyler has asked for your hand in marriage, who knows why. Even after what he knows, he’ll still have you.”

  Her stomach sank like a rock. “Have me? That’s not what marriage is all about! I can’t marry Tyler.”

  “Yes, you can. And you will. You have disgraced our family name and my reputation. If he’ll still have you, this is the only way to maintain my dignity.”

  “Your dignity?” She pressed her palms over her heart. “What about me?”

  “You have shamed me. This is no longer about you.”

  “It’s very much about me. This isn’t the fifteenth century.”

  “Reputation is more important than anything, particularly in business. You will do as I say. Fortunately people have seen you together often lately, so you can set a date quickly.”

  Georgette’s head spun. “I’m not marrying Tyler. I don’t love him.” She gritted her teeth. “I don’t even like him.” She turned and glared at Tyler. “We had a deal. You weren’t going to tell my father what you knew, and in exchange I did what you wanted me to do. I can’t believe I fell for it. People thought we were actually dating! I played right into your hands, didn’t I?”

  Tyler shrugged his shoulders. “This is really for your own good, Georgette. You can’t believe that you have a future being a mechanic. Your rightful place is in society. You should be able to see that.”

  “All I see is that you’re good at double-dealing. Now I trust you less than ever.”

  Her father stepped closer and crossed his arms. “I had a deal with Tyler first. He said he would find out exactly where you were working, and why you were being so evasive with me. He did exactly what he was supposed to do and what I would have done in his place. The ability to know when to turn the tables will take him far in business. And speaking of business, now I’ve met your ‘boss,’” her father spat out the word with the utmost disdain, “you can’t seriously believe his p
athetic business has a future for you, or for our family. The only place you have a future is with Tyler. You will marry him, or…or…or I’ll disown you.”

  Georgette grasped the edge of the table to steady herself. “You don’t mean that.”

  “I’ve put up with your foolishness until now, but this job is the final straw. I’ve given you everything you wanted, and more, and now I find out that you’re spending your time with some backwoods grease monkey! It’s time for you to put your ridiculous ideas aside, and start doing things my way. You’ve forced my hand on this.”

  Georgette’s entire life flashed before her eyes. It was true, she knew she’d been spoiled, but, except for the job, she’d always done everything her father desired.

  “And from now on, I want you to attend Sunday-morning brunches either with me or with Tyler.”

  “But I go to church on Sunday mornings.”

  “Church is a crutch for people who are weak. You won’t be going back there. Or to your job. Is this clear?”

  Her voice trembled. “No, Daddy, it’s not clear. Why are you doing this to me?”

  His voice deepened. “You are an Ecklington. You don’t need church. And you certainly don’t need a job.”

  Perhaps she didn’t need the job, but she did need church—and God—more than she ever had in her entire life. She knew God wouldn’t turn His back on her if she didn’t go to church on Sunday, but she had so much to learn, and she needed to be with other believers. Even though she could be close to God anywhere, she found it difficult when surrounded by decadence. Church was where she truly felt God’s presence. God’s presence wasn’t exactly welcomed in her home.

  Her father’s voice broke into her thoughts. “I’m sending you home in the limo to give yourself time to think. I’ll follow with Tyler. When we get there, I will hear your decision.”

  “My decision won’t change,” Georgette snapped. She scooped up her purse and stomped outside to the limo. The driver opened the door, she slid inside and the door closed, cutting her off from her father and the rest of the outside world. In the past, she’d always considered the limo a safe haven. Tonight, it suffocated her.

  She turned around and watched through the rear window as Tyler and her father walked into the parking lot together.

  They were a matched set. Tyler would do anything her father said, and anticipate his every need for the possibility of gaining his favor. Her father reveled in Tyler’s adoration, which made Tyler expect even more from the relationship. Everyone knew where things were heading. Tyler would rise up quickly in the ranks of her father’s empire.

  Knowing Tyler, Georgette should have expected his duplicity. Not to see that he’d initially been acting on her father’s instruction made her ten times the fool. But then, it was her own fault. It had been easier to believe what she wanted to believe and that had b been her downfall. She knew what Tyler was capable of doing. He acknowledged no guilt in taking advantage of her or forcing her hand in marriage.

  It didn’t matter what her father said or what threats he made. She would never marry Tyler. For any reason. Ever.

  If she was going to marry someone, she would marry a man like Bob—a man who was honest and hard-working, and a wonderful example of how to lead a good life, with God in the middle of it.

  The car stopped in front of the house instead of pulling into the garage.

  She wondered if she could tell the driver to keep going, but the door opened, sending in a draught of cold air. Her father must have taken a short cut.

  He released the door handle and stepped back. “What do you have to say for yourself?” he ground out between his teeth.

  “Certainly you can’t expect that I’m going to marry him,” she pointed at Tyler as she scrambled out, “just because you don’t approve of my job or the people I’ve been seeing lately.”

  “I most certainly do. For a long time, I’ve hoped that you would marry Tyler. He would fit well into the business, and our family. In fact, I’m considering a plum position for him right now, based on his dedication.”

  Tyler might have been a good match for the business and for their dysfunctional family, but not for Georgette’s heart. After attending dozens of events since their “arrangement,” she liked him even less than she had before. Now, after what he’d done today, he downright disgusted her. She certainly couldn’t marry him. The only reason she would ever marry was for love.

  She turned to her father. “Why did you marry Momma?”

  “I married your mother because she was pregnant. Getting married was the right thing to do.”

  “Did you love her?” she choked out. They’d always been told Terri had been premature.

  He cocked his head to the side. “Not really. But she loved me.” He arched one eyebrow and turned to Tyler who smiled in response. “I was young and our parents saw to it that that we did what was expected. Everything was fine until your mother got all those ridiculous ideas in her head.”

  Georgette pressed her hand over the gold cross beneath her dress. She had a feeling she knew what he meant by “those ridiculous ideas,” and wondered for the first time if her mother had really left, or if she’d been “disowned,” to use her father’s term, for her beliefs. It didn’t matter.

  Even if the reward was the smallest corner of her father’s corporate world, she couldn’t marry for any reason other than the love of a good man.

  Like Bob. Not that she was in love with her boss, of course, she corrected herself.

  She cleared her throat. “I already told you. I won’t marry Tyler. Ever.”

  Her father extended one arm, drawing her attention to a stack of boxes stacked haphazardly on the grass. Clothing and some of her personal items from her bedroom stuck out at odd angles, telling her that the boxes had been packed in a hurry by his staff. A cold numbness started to overtake her. Georgette stepped forward, reached into one of the boxes, and pulled out the stuffed teddy bear that she kept on top of her bed.

  “I’m giving you ten seconds to change your mind.”

  When her father had said he’d disown her, she hadn’t thought he’d meant that he would kick her out immediately. This must be the same way her mother had disappeared in one afternoon.

  Tyler’s voice sounded behind her, every word echoing into her brain. “I’ll be a good husband to you.”

  Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Her father called himself a good husband, too, claiming the failure of the marriage was her mother’s fault and nothing could be blamed on him. He’d kicked his wife out, and now he was kicking out his daughter.

  “Your time is up. What’s your decision?”

  “I haven’t changed my mind. I’m not going to marry Tyler, I’m not going to quit my job and I’m not going to quit going to church.”

  “You’re no better than your mother.” He pointed into the center of his chest. “I’m the one who brings in all the money. I’m the one who provides a home and all the perks that go with the fortune I bring into this house. I gave her anything she wanted. She had no right to refuse to do things my way. And neither do you!”

  After experiencing a sample of what he considered publicly acceptable in order to get ahead, Georgette could only guess at his less public methods. “But what if what you’re doing is wrong?”

  His face turned red. “How dare you criticize me, after all I’ve done for you! Is this what that church does to you? Teach you to question my judgment and my success? Your mother was exactly the same. Get off my property. I no longer consider you an Ecklington.”

  Georgette stared at the pile of the boxes, not many, really, considering all the material items she considered hers, even though most of it had been paid for by her father. Her father had obviously instructed the staff to be very selective in order to keep what was “his” by purchase.

  “And get that monstrosity you call a truck off my property, as well. If it’s not gone by morning, I’m having it towed to the junkyard.”

  She turned to
see that her truck was in the driveway, not in the garage, where she had been storing it while she continued to work on it. In all the excitement, she hadn’t noticed it. “But…” her voice trailed off.

  “Don’t try using any of your credit cards. They’re all in my name, and I’ve cancelled them. Soon I will be removing all the money I have deposited in your account since that account has my name on it too. All that will remain is the money you’ve put in from your pathetic job. Less what you’ve spent in the past month, of course, if that leaves anything at all. I’m giving you one last chance to get some sense into your head and change your mind.”

  Georgette stiffened. “Never!”

  “You have no idea what it takes to succeed in this world. No one will do anything for you without getting something in return, and you don’t have what it takes to handle any kind of pressure. You won’t survive. You’ll be back, and when that happens you’ll do things my way.”

  Her father turned, opened the door, and stepped into the house. Tyler followed him inside and the door closed.

  Chapter Nine

  Georgette stood, facing the closed door, unable to move.

  The reflection of the moon on the smooth wood mocked her with its silence.

  Everything she had taken for granted was gone.

  Her car. Her computer. The furniture. Her jewelry. Her tools.

  She still had her cell phone in her purse, but she was positive that by morning, that account would be terminated too.

  She tried to imagine the contents of her closet, her dresser and the racks of shoes. She couldn’t imagine everything stuffed into only a dozen boxes, but that was all that remained. Her life had been reduced to a dozen boxes, sitting on the lawn.

  Money can’t buy happiness.

  She didn’t need so much money. All that money certainly hadn’t bought her a trouble-free life.

  But love doesn’t pay the rent.

  Georgette squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t have to worry about paying the rent. She didn’t have a home to pay rent on.