“You look lovely this morning by the way. That color suits you.”
His compliment threw me off guard.
“And your mother would have wanted you to have nice things. Go on. Open it.”
I was wrong before. He didn’t know my mother at all. She cared about quality time, not quality items. The only expensive thing she owned was a floor-length cobalt blue dress that she wore on special occasions. Like when I pretended to open a bakery in the middle of our kitchen and she came to my opening night. Mr. Pruitt didn’t know me or my mom. He wasn’t my family. But I also didn’t want to fight him. I’d be gone soon enough.
I pulled the bow and lifted the lid off the box. There was a laptop and a cell phone staring back at me. And a black Amex card with my name on it.
“This should make you feel more at home,” he said. “You’ll still be able to converse with the Alcaraz girl over the phone without actually seeing her in person.”
Throwing expensive things at me wasn’t the way to make me want to stay. And talking about my best friend like that? It made me want to run in the opposite direction of him. “Her name’s Kennedy.”
“This will be better for everyone. You’ll stay nice and safe here instead of ever being in that dingy building you came from.”
Wait. “Am I not allowed to leave?”
He laughed. “Of course you are. I have a whole list of approved visitors and of people you can visit as well. Miller will accompany you for all outings. And itineraries for the upcoming week must be submitted to me on Sunday mornings so I have time to approve them. If you’d like to give a list of friends to Miller, he’ll do the proper background checks.”
He had to be kidding. I waited, but he didn’t laugh. “There’s a code on the front door. What is it?”
“You don’t need to worry about that, since Miller will be accompanying you.”
“But…”
“It’s for your safety.”
It was a fire hazard. Not a safety precaution. But I didn’t care. I’d already gotten a plan in my head. I wouldn’t be coming back. I just needed to get out of here once and I’d be all set. “My friend Felix Green lives in the building. Can I go see him today?”
“The Greens?” He took a sip of his coffee. “They’re art dealers, right?”
“Yes.” Although, Felix had implied that was just a front for something much more sinister. The less Mr. Pruitt knew about that, the better.
“Very well. Miller can take you over to their place after our round of golf.”
“Our round of golf?”
“Yes. I thought it would be nice to show you around the club and introduce you to some of my associates.”
That sounded worse than my nightmares last night. I didn’t want him to parade me around to his associates. Whatever that meant. “Unless you count mini-golf, I don’t know how to golf.”
“Really?”
Where the hell would I have learned how to golf? “Really.”
“Then I’m afraid today won’t work. Bill is a real stickler for speed-of-play. I’ll have to teach you another day. As it is, I have a tee time.” He placed his napkin down on top of his plate. “Enjoy the rest of your day. And please don’t hesitate to ask the staff for anything at all that you need. Their numbers are already programmed into your phone.”
“Wait.” He’d sidetracked the conversation so much I’d completely forgotten my most important question. “I have work tonight.” It seemed like telling him was better than asking. “So I won’t be here for dinner.”
He laughed. “No. Absolutely not.”
“No?” I purposely didn’t ask his permission. He didn’t get to tell me no. Despite what he thought, he wasn’t my parent. He wasn’t even my legal guardian. He was a kidnapping psychopath.
“You won’t be working anymore,” he said.
“But I have to work.”
He tilted his head to the side as he stared at me. “I can give you everything you need.” He gestured to the presents still sitting on the table.
I don’t want anything from you. “I’m saving up for college. I…”
“You get decent grades. I looked at your transcript. Pick any school you please and I’ll make it happen.”
I opened my mouth and closed it again. “I don’t want to get into a good school because of your name.”
“Of course you do. You’re already reaping the benefits. Why do you think you didn’t have detention yesterday after you started that food fight last week? I got you a clean slate at the school. Have fun with Mr. Green. And expense whatever you want to your card.” He strolled out of the dining room.