He looked up, surprised. ‘This is a pretty big job. What does it have to do with you?’
‘I put the deal together,’ Lara said proudly. ‘I’m going to own the building.’
Steele whistled softly. ‘Well, good for you, honey.’
‘There are two catches.’
‘Oh?’
‘The building has to be finished by December 31st or it reverts to the bank, and it can’t cost more than $170,000.’
‘December 31st is just ten months away.’
‘I know. Can it be done?’
Steele looked at the blueprints again. Lara watched him silently calculating.
Finally he spoke. ‘It can be finished by December 31st if you give us the green light now.’
‘Then you’ve got a deal.’
It was all Lara could do not to shout out loud. I’ve done it, she thought. I’ve done it!
They shook hands. ‘You’re the prettiest boss I’ve ever had,’ Buzz Steele said.
‘Thank you. How soon can you get started?’
‘Tell you what. I’ll go into Glace Bay tomorrow to look over the lot. I’m going to give you a building you’ll be proud of.’
When Lara left, she felt that she had wings.
Lara returned to Glace Bay and told Charles Cohn the news.
‘Are you sure this company is reliable, Lara?’
‘I know it is,’ Lara assured him. ‘They’ve put up buildings here and in Sydney, and Halifax and …’
Her enthusiasm was contagious.
Cohn smiled. ‘Well, then, it looks like we’re in business.’
‘It does, doesn’t it?’ Lara beamed. And then she remembered the deal she had made with Sean MacAllister, and her smile faded. Next Saturday I have to go into Halifax. I thought we might go there together. Saturday was only two days away.
Lara signed the contracts the following morning. As Sean MacAllister watched her leave the office, he was very pleased with himself. He had no intention of letting her have the new building. And he almost laughed aloud at her naïvété. He would loan her the money, but he would really be loaning it to himself. He thought about making love to that wonderful young body, and he began to get an erection.
Lara had been to Halifax only twice. Compared to Glace Bay, it was a bustling town, full of pedestrians and automobiles, and shops crammed with merchandise. Sean MacAllister drove Lara to a motel on the outskirts of town. He pulled into the parking lot and patted her on the knee. ‘You wait here while I register for us, honey.’
Lara sat in the car, waiting, panicky. I’m selling myself, she thought. Like a whore. But it’s all I’ve got to sell, and at least he thinks I’m worth two hundred thousand dollars. My father never saw two hundred thousand dollars in his life. He was always too …
The car door opened and MacAllister was standing there, grinning. ‘All set. Let’s go.’
Lara suddenly found it hard to breathe. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it was going to fly out of her chest. I’m having a heart attack, she thought.
‘Lara …’ He was looking at her strangely. ‘Are you all right?’
No. I’m dying. They’ll take me to the hospital and I’ll die there. A virgin. ‘I’m fine,’ she said.
Slowly she got out of the car and followed MacAllister into a drab cabin with a bed, two chairs, a battered dressing table, and a tiny bathroom.
She was caught up in a nightmare.
‘So this is your first time, eh?’ MacAllister said.
She thought of the boys at school who had fondled her and kissed her breasts and tried to put their hands between her legs. ‘Yes,’ she said.
‘Well, you mustn’t be nervous. Sex is the most natural thing in the world.’
Lara watched as MacAllister began to strip off his clothes. His body was pudgy.
‘Get undressed,’ MacAllister ordered.
Slowly, Lara took off her blouse and skirt and shoes. She was wearing a brassière and panties.
MacAllister looked at her figure and walked over to her. ‘You’re beautiful, you know that, baby?’
She could feel his male hardness pressing against her body. MacAllister kissed her on the lips and she felt disgust.
‘Get the rest of your clothes off,’ he said urgently. He walked over to the bed and stripped off his shorts. His penis was hard and red.
That will never fit inside me, Lara thought. It will kill me.
‘Hurry up.’
Slowly Lara took off her brassière and stepped out of her panties.
‘My God,’ he said, ‘you’re fantastic. Come over here.’
Lara walked over to the bed and sat down. MacAllister squeezed her breasts hard and she cried aloud with the pain.
‘That felt good, didn’t it? It’s time you had yourself a man.’ MacAllister pushed her down on her back and spread her legs.
Lara was suddenly panicky. ‘I’m not wearing anything,’ she said. ‘I mean … I could get pregnant.’
‘Don’t worry,’ MacAllister promised her, ‘I won’t come inside you.’
An instant later, Lara felt him pushing inside her, hurting her.
‘Wait!’ she cried, ‘I …’
MacAllister was past the waiting. He rammed himself into her and the pain was excruciating. He was pounding into her body now, harder and harder, and Lara put her hand to her mouth to keep from screaming. It will be over in a minute, she thought, and I’ll own a building. And I can put up a second building. And another …
The pain was becoming unbearable.
‘Move your ass,’ MacAllister cried. ‘Don’t just lay there. Move it!’
She tried to move, but it was impossible. She was in too much pain.
Suddenly, MacAllister gave a gasp and Lara felt his body jerk. He let out a satisfied sigh and lay limp against her.
She was horrified. ‘You said you wouldn’t …’
He lifted himself up on his elbows and said earnestly, ‘Darling, I couldn’t help it, you’re just so beautiful. But don’t worry. If you get pregnant, I know a doctor who’ll take care of you.’
Lara turned her face away so he could not see her revulsion. She limped into the bathroom, sore and bleeding. She stood in the shower, letting the warm water wash over her body, and she thought, It’s over with. I’ve done it. I own the land. I’m going to be rich.
Now all she had to do was get dressed and go back to Glace Bay and get her building started.
She walked out of the bathroom and Sean MacAllister said, ‘That was so good, we’re going to do it again.’
Charles Cohn had inspected five buildings erected by the Nova Scotia Construction Company.
‘They’re a first rate outfit,’ he had told Lara. ‘You