and set it down on a table by the door.
“What? How can you even do that without telling me about it?”
He shrugged.
“When your bank account is as large as mine, the credit card companies tend to bend over backwards for you.”
“You are infuriating!” I groaned, not really meaning it. I couldn’t believe that he’d made such a huge leap to trust me with that kind of money.
He pouted, looking absolutely irresistible when he did.
“Why can’t you just accept a gift?”
“Because, it’s too much! Maybe you’re used to all of this, but I’m not. I’m used to having to decide between paying the water bill or the light bill. I’m used to having landlords pounding on my door because my rent check bounced. I’m not used to private jets and no limit credit cards.”
“I’m sorry, Marcie. I never thought about it that way. I only want to make you happy. I’m not trying to buy your affection or anything.”
“I… I mean, I didn’t… mean to… um…” I stuttered, unable to form a coherent sentence. He wanted to make me happy? He wanted my affection? Who was this man? For two weeks he pretended that I didn’t exist.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “Enjoy yourself shopping tomorrow and then we’ll continue this discussion at dinner. Deal?”
I nodded, still tongue-tied by his revelation.
“Have a good night, Marcie.”
“Night good… Bryce,” I muttered, wincing at how stupid I sounded.
He chuckled as he pulled my door shut, leaving me alone to wallow in my own awkwardness.
The next morning, Francis knocked on my door bright and early.
“Miss Marcie? Your driver is ready to take you into town whenever you’d like.”
I groaned, trying to eke out a few more winks of sleep. I knew that I was better off just getting up to face the day. It couldn’t be all that terrible, could it? Girls liked shopping. I always hated it because I didn’t have any money, but this was different. Now I had more money than I could wrap my brain around and I didn’t know how to process that.
“Francis,” I called, wiping sleep from my tired eyes, “do you know where Bryce is taking me for dinner?”
“Yes, ma’am, but he wants to keep it a secret.”
“Can you at least tell me if it’s going to be fancy?”
“I believe formal attire would be appropriate, yes.”
I couldn’t stop my moan of frustration.
“And I suppose there’s no way around that, is there?”
Francis smirked and then quickly cleared his throat to cover it up.
“No, I’m afraid not. Master Dorian has his heart set on this particular location.”
I sighed, knowing I’d been defeated. It wasn’t fair to have the butler fight your battles for you, but if he wanted to play dirty, I could too.
“Okay, tell the driver I’ll be ready in ten minutes.”
“Of course,” he said with a half-bow.
I rolled my eyes; he never dropped his butler routine. Apparently, according to Clara, he’d attended some fancy butler school overseas. I didn’t know if that was true, but I knew enough to know that this house would crumble without Francis’s watchful eye.
My hand trembled as I slipped the black credit card into my pocket. I couldn’t even begin to fathom the amount of money Bryce must have. Oddly, the thought comforted me. I shouldn’t feel guilty for buying myself nice things when it wouldn’t even make a dent in his bank account. The part of my brain that controlled scheming was working in overdrive. He’d finally begun to make a move and I didn’t want him to back out now, so I was going to go out of my way to look incredible.
I’d never really had the opportunity to care about my appearance. Without a mother around during my teenage years, I never learned how to apply make-up or do anything with my unruly curls. Being a young woman and having only your father’s hand-me-downs didn’t exactly make great fodder for a confidence boost.
I made a face at my scuffed sneakers as I climbed into the waiting town car. Even
“What? How can you even do that without telling me about it?”
He shrugged.
“When your bank account is as large as mine, the credit card companies tend to bend over backwards for you.”
“You are infuriating!” I groaned, not really meaning it. I couldn’t believe that he’d made such a huge leap to trust me with that kind of money.
He pouted, looking absolutely irresistible when he did.
“Why can’t you just accept a gift?”
“Because, it’s too much! Maybe you’re used to all of this, but I’m not. I’m used to having to decide between paying the water bill or the light bill. I’m used to having landlords pounding on my door because my rent check bounced. I’m not used to private jets and no limit credit cards.”
“I’m sorry, Marcie. I never thought about it that way. I only want to make you happy. I’m not trying to buy your affection or anything.”
“I… I mean, I didn’t… mean to… um…” I stuttered, unable to form a coherent sentence. He wanted to make me happy? He wanted my affection? Who was this man? For two weeks he pretended that I didn’t exist.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “Enjoy yourself shopping tomorrow and then we’ll continue this discussion at dinner. Deal?”
I nodded, still tongue-tied by his revelation.
“Have a good night, Marcie.”
“Night good… Bryce,” I muttered, wincing at how stupid I sounded.
He chuckled as he pulled my door shut, leaving me alone to wallow in my own awkwardness.
The next morning, Francis knocked on my door bright and early.
“Miss Marcie? Your driver is ready to take you into town whenever you’d like.”
I groaned, trying to eke out a few more winks of sleep. I knew that I was better off just getting up to face the day. It couldn’t be all that terrible, could it? Girls liked shopping. I always hated it because I didn’t have any money, but this was different. Now I had more money than I could wrap my brain around and I didn’t know how to process that.
“Francis,” I called, wiping sleep from my tired eyes, “do you know where Bryce is taking me for dinner?”
“Yes, ma’am, but he wants to keep it a secret.”
“Can you at least tell me if it’s going to be fancy?”
“I believe formal attire would be appropriate, yes.”
I couldn’t stop my moan of frustration.
“And I suppose there’s no way around that, is there?”
Francis smirked and then quickly cleared his throat to cover it up.
“No, I’m afraid not. Master Dorian has his heart set on this particular location.”
I sighed, knowing I’d been defeated. It wasn’t fair to have the butler fight your battles for you, but if he wanted to play dirty, I could too.
“Okay, tell the driver I’ll be ready in ten minutes.”
“Of course,” he said with a half-bow.
I rolled my eyes; he never dropped his butler routine. Apparently, according to Clara, he’d attended some fancy butler school overseas. I didn’t know if that was true, but I knew enough to know that this house would crumble without Francis’s watchful eye.
My hand trembled as I slipped the black credit card into my pocket. I couldn’t even begin to fathom the amount of money Bryce must have. Oddly, the thought comforted me. I shouldn’t feel guilty for buying myself nice things when it wouldn’t even make a dent in his bank account. The part of my brain that controlled scheming was working in overdrive. He’d finally begun to make a move and I didn’t want him to back out now, so I was going to go out of my way to look incredible.
I’d never really had the opportunity to care about my appearance. Without a mother around during my teenage years, I never learned how to apply make-up or do anything with my unruly curls. Being a young woman and having only your father’s hand-me-downs didn’t exactly make great fodder for a confidence boost.
I made a face at my scuffed sneakers as I climbed into the waiting town car. Even
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