The Tycoon's Misunderstood Bride (12 page)

Jason almost laughed at her eager tone.  He wished he were there so he could see her enchanting green eyes light up.  Or maybe they wouldn’t.  He wasn’t sure how she felt about socializing with others.  It occurred to him that she seemed to be such a home body. 

“I have an event tomorrow night.  It’s a charity function that I donate to and there’s a fundraising dinner.  Would you mind attending with me?”  He actually had no idea why he was even thinking of going.  He rarely attended these kinds of functions, preferring to simply have his office write a check.  But it was the best idea he could come up with to be with Emma so he’d grabbed it.  It would give him a chance to talk to her in a non-threatening environment. 

“A fundraiser?  Which charity?”

“Is that a yes?”

Emma smiled, her heart beating wildly at the thought of seeing Jason again.  “Yes.  Of course I’ll help you.”

“Great.  I’ll have my secretary send over the details.  Do you have anything appropriate to wear?”

That hadn’t occurred to her.  “I don’t think so.  I’m sorry.”

“Not a problem.  Have your driver take you to T
andory’s.  It’s on Westchester S
treet.  Ask for Laura.  She’ll have all the information and will know what’s appropriate.  She’ll get you ready.”

“But…I don’t have the money for any of that,” she said, painfully aware of her poverty stricken state. 

“Didn’t your father give you an allowance?”

She sighed with humiliation.  “No.  He…uh…didn’t think I needed any money.”

“What do you do for income?”

“
What do I
need an income for?”

Jason was stunned.  “Emma, what do you do for entertainment?”

“I go to the library.”

“You don’t go shopping or have any hobbies?”

“I read.  A lot,” she clarified. 

“Anything else?”

Emma wished she cou
ld see his face to determine what he was thinking.  It was hard to read one’s tone through the phone.  She needed to see a person’s facial expressions to
gauge
their reactions. 

“There are lots of things I’ve wanted to try…” she said hesitantly. 

“Such as?”

Emma shrugged but knew he couldn’t see her either.  “I don’t know.  My father was pretty strict.”

Jason hesitated, not sure why he even cared that this lovely woman had been basically kept in a bubble her whole life.  “How is the job search going?”

Great!  Another embarrassing subject.  “Well, I don’t really qualify for anything.”

“I thought you went to University.”

“I did.  But I have no work experience.  And my father signed me up for all of my classes.  Unfortunately, I have a very expensive, very useless degree.”

“So go back to school and take the classes you’re interested in.  Who is stopping you now?”

“There’s that horrible little money issue cropping it’s head up above the stone wall, isn’t it?”

Jason laughed, but he didn’t think it was funny that Emma thought of her hopes and dreams like a soldier sticking their head up over a stone wall, only to be shot down by her father’s tyranny.  It’s yet another twist of the knife, the first wound was tearing into Emma’s body, not knowing she was a virgin. 

Would he ever understand what she’d gone through living with that bastard of a father?  The image of a freckle faced young girl, running quietly down the hallway and hiding in a closet came to mind.  Apparently, Emma was still hiding in closets. 

“Emma, the credit card I’m sending over is for you to use however you want.  Please don’t hesitate to explore ideas.  Will you do that for me?”

She couldn’t believe he was giving her a
credit card with carte blanche.  No restrictions?  The only time she’d ever held money was when her father had given her some cash for a very specific reason.  Even in school, she’d had to write home asking him for funds if there was an event.  And normally, she’d simply
forgo
the event because humans from the male gender would also be attending.  She knew that her father would never allow her to attend so she hadn’t asked. 

“I can do that,” she said but she could barely squeeze out the words. 

“Good.  Now that’s settled.  The cell phone and credit card will be there in about an hour.  Go ahead and head over to Tandory’s.  I know Laura will help you.  I’m instructing her to send you home with several outfits so that you will be ready in case there’s something else you might help me with.  Is that okay?”

“Yes.  Absolutely,” she said, excitement rushing through her at the idea of new outfits.  Hopefully, they were more exciting that these ridiculous jumpers. 

“Great.  I’ll pick you up tomorrow at seven o’clock.  The event is a dinner, but I’d like to take you out for a drink before the dinner.  By then, have a list of ten things you’d like to try doing.  Okay?”

“Yes,” she swallowed painfully.  “I’ll be ready.  Seven o’clock.”

Emma’s mind whirled with the possibilities as she stood up and walked into the kitchen where Nancy was busy making a sandwich for lunch.  “I know you’re probably not hungry,” she said, “but you haven’t eaten since breakfast yesterday.  So I’m going to insist that you eat something.”  Nancy stood there with the sandwich on a plate complete with freshly cut up fruit. 

Emma looked down at the fancy plate and blinked.  “That’s lovely, Nancy,” she said and took the plate.  She didn’t head into the dining room where she normally ate in opulent, but lonely splendor.  She took the plate to the side table and sat down on one of the stools.  “I was hoping you might help me with something.”

“Of course,” Nancy replied, wiping down the counters and putting things aw
ay.  “What did you have in mind?
”

“That’s sort of the issue.  I don’t have anything in mind.  And Jason wants me to come up with several hobbies I’d like to pursue.  I don’t even know what the possibilities are.”

Nancy gazed at the lovely woman perched on the stool and her heart squeezed for the child who had been so emotionally abused throughout her young life.  There had been so many times Nancy had wanted to leave but protecting this girl, now a woman, had kept her here.  Nancy had ensured that there would always be a closet or cabinet with enough space to hide the little girl who needed to escape from her father’s wrath.  She hid anything that Emma might have left out, even though she’d been forbidden to clean up after her.  There were so many little things she’d done, but maybe they’d all been
too
little.  This young woman with the stunning face and a figure women would die to look like, had no idea what to do with her life now that her father had finally passed away. 

No!  She wouldn’t give up.  This woman has so much to live for!

“Well, you love reading.  I think you’ve gone through most of the books in the library, haven’t you?”

Emma laughed and nodded, taking a bite of her sandwich. 

“Well, what about volunteering at the library?  I noticed that you were circling possible jobs in the newspaper this morning but maybe if you had more experience, you could find something you sincerely enjoy.  And volunteering is a perfect way to gain experience.  It’s extremely rare for someone to be turned down for a volunteer activity.”

Emma’s eyes widened.  “Nancy, that’s a wonderful idea!”

“And there’s story times at the library.  You could help read to the children, the ones that aren’t in school yet.  And since you know so much about the books, you could pro
vide recommendations to others.”

Emma’s mind whirled with the possibilities.  “I hadn’t ever thought about that.”

“You have more experience that you know, Emma.  You just need help finding a way to develop your experience.”

Emma laughed and put her sandwich down.  She loved the idea of reading to the small children.  She was normally at the library during story time and enjoyed watching the faces as the story unfolded.  Being the one to read the words to all those adorable faces would be a joy! 

“Okay.  I’ll do it.  What else?”

Nancy laughed.  “Eat!  What about cooking?  Do you like cooking or baking?  I could teach you how to do both if you’d like.”

“
C
ooking?”  Emma looked around the kitchen, her eyes wide.  “Would you really teach me how to cook?”

“Of course!”  Nancy laughed
again, really getting into the spirit of making a list for her charge to try out
.  “I love cooking and baking relaxes me.  I’d enjoy passing that on.”

“You’re a marvelous cook, Nancy.  I don’t think I could ever match your expertise.”

“You never know.”  She smiled with motherly affection.  “What about animals?  Do you like them?”

That stumped her.  “I don’t know.  Father hated animals.”

“What about horseback riding?”

Emma grimaced.  “I don’t know.  Is it fun?”

Nancy laughed.  “I have no idea.  I can’t afford to ride so you’ll have to experience that on your own.  Besides, I’m terrified of horses.  They have big teeth.”

“I have to come up with a list of ten things I’d like to try when I meet with Jason tomorrow.  I’m helping him with a charity function tomorrow.”  Her eyes grew wide with a thought.  “You don’t think Jason will be like my father, do you?”

“What do you mean?”

Emma looked down at her hands, her fingers knotting together.  “Father would become extremely…agitated if I looked at another man during one of the functions.  I’d rather not attend if Jason would feel the same way.”

Nancy shook her head.  “Emma, I saw that man yesterday when he left.  He isn’t like your father.”  She
didn’t
want to say anything bad about the deceased, but Edward Mason was a black-hearted bastard with no morals, a corrupt attitude and a meanness that was bone-marrow deep.  The way he’d treated this lovely young woman was a crime, but she’d been unable to figure out how to make it stop. 

“Jason isn’t like your father.  I guarantee it.”  And Nancy decided to ensure that her charge wouldn’t have to endure anything like that again.  Even if it meant losing her job. 

“So you have
five
things.  Library volunteer, reading volunteer, animals perhaps, horseback riding
and cooking
.  What else interests you?  What about classes your father wouldn’t let you take in school?”

Emma’s mind lit up.  “He wouldn’t let me take French, although I’d love to learn that beautiful language.”

“What did he have against the French language?” she asked, dumbfounded that he would object to a whole language.

“He said it was a romantic language and I’d only be learning it to lure men into my web,” she said, her eyes downcast. 

Nancy covered her mouth to smother her laughter.  That idea was so ludicrous, she actually snorted.  “I apologize.  That was inappropriate of me.”

Emma released a laugh as well.  “No, you’re correct.  It is ridiculous.”

“Okay, so add learning French to the list.  What else?”

Emma bit her lip and tried to think of other things that she’d been denied over the years.  The first thing that came to mind was having friends, but she couldn’t really admit that to Nancy.  That just sounded too pathetic. 

“I don’t know.  I’ll have to think about it some more.”

Tim came into the kitchen at that moment, standing at attention.  “Excuse me, miss.  I received a message that I’m to take you to a store.  I have the address and am ready whenever you are.”