Page 40 of Convincing Him
Parker’s guilty expression told her the truth. Gasping, Britney let go of him.
“Britney, we didn’t know until a few weeks ago,” explained Parker. “No one else knows.”
“Gabe knew before he became engaged to me,” breathed Britney. She wondered if Jessica’s other words were true. Was Gabe only marrying her for revenge against his father?
Was it any worse than him marrying her just to get his inheritance?
Gabe had kept this secret from her. His father had ruined her father. Mechanically, Britney grabbed her purse from the office.
“Britney,” Parker followed her in. “Don’t listen to that spiteful harpy. You and Gabe are good for each other. Give him a chance to explain.”
“I need time to think,” murmured Britney. She looked through her bag for her keys. Finding them, she gazed at Parker, questioning, “Aren’t you mad at Gabe? He lied to you too.”
“He didn’t lie. He just never told me,” replied Parker.
“Splitting hairs. A lie of omission is still a lie,” Britney answered.
Parker sighed. “I already suspected. Oscar said something once and with Dad’s constant attitude towards me, I put the facts together for myself. I just didn’t want to confront it because then Dad might kick me out of the family business. I love what I do, Britney. This is my calling. If Gabe had told me, I might have to do something about it. In his own way, he was protecting me.”
“Was he protecting me or just using me?” whispered Britney.
“You were using each other,” remarked Parker. “You were using him to fulfill a silly fantasy and he was using you to get his inheritance. Neither of you should be judging the other.”
Britney slowly nodded. They had been using each other. It wasn’t love, it was greed. Both of them had been taking and not giving. They were horrible people. She was a horrible person, Britney decided. She slipped the strap of her purse over her shoulder, heading for the door.
“Britney, what are you going to do?” asked a concerned Parker.
“I don’t know,” she replied as she left the office.
She could hardly remember the drive back to her own office. Thankfully, it was a Friday afternoon and all she needed to do was to get through the next few hours then she would have the entire weekend to think.
Did she really need to?
Britney’s mind was relentlessly going over what she had learned from Jessica and Parker’s inadvertent truth.
They were just using each other.
Deep down, Britney knew he wasn’t enthused about marrying her. He wouldn’t be doing it at all except for the ultimatum his father had made. However, there had been a spark of hope, a belief that since he had chosen her, they might be able to make something of this marriage and eventually be happy together. She had hoped in the weeks they had been together, where she had forced him to spend time with her, he might start coming around to the idea they could make this marriage a success if only they tried hard enough.
He hadn’t changed at all. Then again, neither had she.
Britney had been using him to fulfill a selfish dream which was never going to come true.
Deep down, Britney had known this was the case. She had just hoped so hard and for so long it was otherwise. It was her, not him, who was deluded into thinking otherwise. The realization she was nothing to him, just a tool to be used by him, was a bitter pill to swallow. However, she was no better. She was using him for a baby, for respectability, for acceptance into a society which had never accepted her. Any hope for a real marriage, a real relationship was extinguished. For once her heart didn’t protest and her mind didn’t try to find a plausible excuse to explain away either of their actions. Britney felt an emptiness, knowing Gabe would never love her.
Had she really loved him or had her mind just fixated on what he represented to her? When had he become the be all and end all of her dreams? Why couldn’t she find respectability, a family and love without him? Why did she need Gabe to rescue her?
She was just as bad as the helpless princesses from her childhood. Whining and waiting for the handsome prince to make everything right. It wasn’t fair to put Gabe in that position. He didn’t want it.
Why couldn’t she be enough just as she was? Britney wondered. Was she in love with Gabe or just the dream he represented?
Either way, it was past time to let him go.
Britney picked up the phone on her desk, dialing her investment advisor Rex Hudson. Not even waiting for his usual greeting, Britney got straight to the point. “I want to purchase one quarter of Ramesly Hospital and Medical Corporation. I want to buy it at twice the going market rate on the condition Gabriel Ramesly will continue to maintain his current position of employment within the company. I know the board will have to approve the sale, hopefully without James Ramesly’s input. I would also like you to make the board aware I will be transferring the shares directly into Gabriel’s name after the sale. I believe they will be more receptive to the idea if that is a part of the sale. It needs to be done today.”
There was silence for a moment as Hudson absorbed all Britney had said. “Are you sure about this Britney? While Ramesly Pharmaceuticals and Insurance stocks have taken a dip, the hotel and hospital stocks are still in good shape. Offering twice the market value is unheard of. It would nearly equal your net worth. To put your entire fortune into your future husband’s name isn’t very secure for you.”
“We’re not getting married,” Britney told him without much feeling. There was an empty void where feelings should be. She wondered if the emotions would come back and if they did would they hurt more than normal?
