Perhaps it could do the same again now.
Chapter 2
Then
She could hear them already. The authoritative voices of her folks filled the house as Peter and Gloria Weston returned from yet another trip abroad.
Kim turned her music up and rolled over on her bed.
It was Saturday, the weekend, and she was doing what she did best – nothing. Which seemed to be all her life was about.
A steady stream of nothing.
It was bad enough that they still ran her life from a distance; with them home she’d have no peace.
Kim was in no hurry to face that. She turned her back to her bedroom door and rolled over.
She was twenty-nine years old and was still living at home, despite spending four years at business school at Cornell. And for what? She wasn’t exactly sure, other than the fact that it was her parents’ will at the time, and their dime. She enjoyed her studies, but since then, hadn’t had much opportunity to put her knowledge to work.
After graduation, her venture capitalist father had given her a position in his company, though he never seemed to let her do anything except put in the hours. And, of course, wine and dine any clients he sent her way.
She learned very early on in life to go along with what her folks wanted, or forfeit the luxury of their purse strings.
Kim liked her life, her Gucci bags and jaunts to the Caribbean, summers in the Hamptons and never-ending nights out in Manhattan. Or at least she did when she was in her teens and early twenties.
As time went on, things had begun to seem samey and, well… boring. But as much as she disliked being a pawn in the games her parents played, she didn’t really have the inclination or the means to deny them.
Now a hand on her shoulder was shaking her awake, though it was unnecessary as Kim wasn’t sleeping. She groaned inwardly, feeling a bit like a teenager.
‘Fast asleep in the middle of the day? How typical,’ her mother’s voice chided as Kim grabbed her iPhone and paused Spotify.
‘Nice to see you, too, Mother.’ She gave Gloria a mirthless grin that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and her mother gave her a deeply condescending glance in return.
Kim was used to those glances. She’d been getting them her entire life.
‘Do you plan on staying in bedallday, Kimberley?’
‘If I can help it, yes,’ she answered as she attempted to turn over. Attempted was as far as she got. ‘Tough night last night.’
‘I hope you took time out of your … busy partying schedule to meet with the tech people your father requested? They were only in town for a couple of days so it was very important to him that you entertain them.’
There was always some up-and-coming entrepreneur or other business type she was expected to ‘entertain’ on her parents’ behalf – apparently because she was hot, blonde, and knew all the trendiest haunts in Manhattan.
Kim hated her ditzy socialite role; it all felt so fake and manipulative. She felt she was capable of so much more, but there was no arguing. She’d tried many times and it never worked out well.
‘I took them to Hirohisa yesterday,’ she answered, rolling her eyes. ‘They loved it. Mr Clarke had a lovely time and said he looked forward to seeing Daddy in San Francisco.’
‘Good,’ her mother replied. ‘Very good.’
Gloria was sitting on the edge of the bed, just by Kim’s hip. She always sat in the same place; it was the perfect vantage point – far enough from her daughter to avoid direct eye contact and close enough to corner her if she tried to move away.
Her mother took everything into consideration before she acted, which was probably the main reason for her parents’ success. She weighed the odds, tested the waters and then launched her attack. In her mother’s long history of battles (as Kim saw them), she had never failed in her conquests.
‘Where’s Dad?’ Kim asked casually as she listened for noise within the house. It was silent, almost as if her father wasn’t there.
‘Downstairs on the phone. Your uncle called.’
‘Did he?’ Kim said enthusiastically. Ted was the only good thing in their family as far as she was concerned. He wasn’t the raging success her parents were – far less acclaimed in his field as a lowly accountant – but he was fun and Kim liked him a lot. Much more than her folks.
