“I don’t know, Kelsea,” I said, turning in the mirror to take in the full picture again.

    “You look stunning, boo. That split is giving me life right now,” my girl gushed.

    “You don’t think it’s too much? This is about to be a real fancy party. I don’t want to go in there looking like I’m an escort.”

    “But you are. You think that man would have gone through all this trouble to get you there if he didn’t want you to be the finest thing in the room?”

    “I don’t know what he expects.”

    “He wants you to show up looking good as hell, making every man in the room jealous of him.”

    “I think he wants a little bit more than that. He gave me five thousand dors,” I said, whispering thest part as if someone could hear us.

    “Because he wants you to show up looking your best. You spent four hundred dors on this dress that you’ll probably never wear again. The least you could do is appreciate how fucking good you look in it. Spin on these hoes again, sis.”

    Iughed at my girl, covering my face as I did another spin in the mirror just for her.

    “Move your hands, Dev. Don’t mess up your makeup,” she warned me.

    “Oh girl, I forgot all about it.”

    “Well don’t. Keep your hands out of your face.”

    “Kelsea, what the hell am I doing, girl?” I asked my friend.

    “Going on a date with your old boss who ns to cash out on you until you find a new job.”

    “And fuck him at will, don’t forget that part. In my twenty-five years of living, a man has never given me money, especially not five thousand freaking dors!”

    “You act like he’s not sexy and paid, girl. Those are my main requirements,” Kelsea stated.

    “That’s because the nature of your job calls for you to look for those things.”

    “Yeah, well Trent asked me to quit,” my girl revealed.

    “What did you tell him?”

    “I told him I would think about it. I can’t let a temporary fixe between me and my guaranteed money.”

    “That’s what I told Brendan!” I reminded her.

    “Yeah, but your money isn’t guaranteed. You don’t have a job either way, sis. I advise you to start looking but have fun with him in the meantime. Who knows you might like him?”hr

    The idea of me actually liking Brendan seemed to float out of the window as soon as a driver showed up to the door to pick me up instead of him. I knew the man had a little money or whatever, but damn, this was our first date. It would seem like he would at least have the decency to greet me at the door. Not only that but for the entire ride, he just kept bragging about his money and how well he could take care of me.

    I got that he was trying to impress me, but if he thought he could just buy me, he was wrong. Who was I kidding? In a couple of weeks, I would be dead broke if I didn’t find another job. It didn’t hurt that I had been able to pay my rent for a few months. That didn’t mean I didn’t have to figure out my next steps soon and very soon.

    School was out for the summer which meant I could work some extra hours, but first I had to find a job. The day I finally got my degree I was going to dance until my feet hurt. I couldn’t wait to get through this storm. With that in mind, I nned to y nice with Mr. Ego until I could do better.

    We arrived at the venue and yet again the driver was the one to open the door and help me out of the car while Brendan was preupied with helping himself.

    “You look beautiful tonight,” he said,plimenting me as he held up his elbow and waited for me to loop my arm through.

    “Thank you,” I muttered.

    Once my hand was secured on his bicep, he continued to walk. I was grateful for his acknowledgment because the deeper we walked into the venue, the more out of ce I felt. I might have even been underdressed. There was no world in which I would have paid four hundred dors for a dress then showed up somewhere and felt like I hadn’t spent enough.

    I didn’t belong at that g any more than I belonged in the gentleman’s club. I felt like a fish out of water as I looked around and spotted the Mayor and a couple of people I only knew from seeing them on flyers and billboards across the city. Not only were the people out of my league, but so was everything else. There was a string quartet ying a song I didn’t recognize. There were white flowers and white tablecloths on all the tables.

    Everything was just so fancy, too fancy if you asked me. There was absolutely no one in the room that I felt like I could rte to, so I made sure to stick close to Brendan. Not that he seemed to mind as he held onto my hand and greeted a few people that he knew. He didn’t bother to introduce me, and I wasn’t mad about it. Thest thing I wanted to do was try to talk to anyone at this party where I already stuck out like a sore thumb.

    “You want something to drink?” he asked me.

    “Sure,” I said.

    Maybe a little liquid courage would help take the edge off. The speck of hope that showed up evaporated as soon as we turned to walk to the bar. There he was. Mr. Jackass that had me fired. If I had known he would be here, I would have turned down Brendan’s invitation.

    For some reason, I tightened my grip on Brendan’s arm as we neared him. It was annoying that this asshole of a man who made my blood boil was so sickeningly sexy. He looked like he’d just stepped off the runway dressed in a ck-on-ck tuxedo. He was as intimidating as he was handsome. How in the world does someone manage to look like an assassin and a model at the same time? This was some ck James Bond shit if you asked me.

    My heart drummed in my chest as we got closer to him. He must have sensed our presence because he turned to face us before Brendan spoke up. His eyes moved from Brendan andnded on me. I clung to Brendan’s arm for dear life hoping this encounter was quick. He and Brendan might have been friends, but he terrified me. Not only that, but his ass had gotten me fired. I couldn’t stand him. It didn’t matter that Brendan promised to help me out for a while. I didn’t like the idea of establishing a quid pro quo situation with him or anyone else.

    “Look what the cat drug in,” Brendan greeted him.

    Although Brendan was the one speaking, Mr. Asshole didn’t take his eyes off me. Once again, he was staring me down like I had no business in his presence. If his eyes weresers, he would have set me on fire. I had never noticed the scar right next to his left eye until his gaze burned through me like aser beam. It was crazy how the scar made him even more sexy.

    “I show up, when necessary,” he stated tly.

    “I’m making my rounds, but I needed to stop by the bar before I finish hobnobbing with these clowns. I hate these stuck-up bastards,” Brendan noted, causing me tough.

    Tell me why his little friend’s eyes shot to me again. I shrank under his withering gaze. Brendan pulled me closer but chuckled.

    “You remember Den. Don’t you? You had me let her go,” Brendan quizzed.

    “Vaguely,” his friend snarked.

    His eyes never left me as he spoke. What the hell was his deal? Did I know him from somewhere in the past? I couldn’t tell if he wanted to strangle me or eat me alive, but the way he looked at me sent a chill down my spine. Was it crazy that I kinda wanted to find out what he was thinking?

    “Is there something I can help you with?” I asked him.

    He sneered. “I don’t think you want me to answer that.”

    “Rx, baby. Let’s get something to eat,” Brendan suggested, tugging my arm. “It was good to see you, Gray. I have a couple of leads on those discrepancies. I’ll be in touch.”

    I was thankful to be away from that evil man. It was like he felt like I wasn’t good enough to be in their presence. Just because I wasn’t rich didn’t mean anyone here was any better than me. That bastard might have thought I was beneath him, but he was just one bad decision away from being in the same boat as me. I shoved him to the back of my mind as Brendan and I ced orders for our entrées.

    As he led the way to our table, Brendan exined that the tes were five hundred dors each. I tried to hide my surprise. What the hell made this food worth five hundred dors? There was not one food in the world that I could think of that was worth a hundred dors, let alone five. When we made it to our designated table, Brendan pulled out my chair for me.

    “Thank you,” I smiled up into his handsome face, wishing I liked him just a little bit.

    He was handsome and funny, but other than that the chemistry wasn’t there. For one thing, I couldn’t stand the way he continued to brag about how he could afford to upgrade my life. Not that my life didn’t need some major upgrading, but I didn’t like how he thought of me as a fixer upper.

    Yes, I wasn’t as sophisticated or polished as most of the people in the room. Yes, I had just lost my job thanks to him and his associate, but I wasn’t a project. I didn’t want or need fixing. That didn’t mean I didn’t want to spend the money he kept bragging about. I couldn’t understand how some men led with money but were surprised when women used them for it. Their whole personality revolves around what they can buy. Then, when women use them for money, they can’t understand why. I only want the money because that’s the only thing of value you have. I’ve never considered myself a gold digger, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

    “What are you in school for?” he quizzed, finally asking me something about myself.

    “Early childhood education,” I said, brimming with excitement at the prospect of talking about one of my favorite things. My excitement was immediately shut down by the grimace on Brendan’s face.

    “What in the world possessed you to want to be a teacher? Teachers don’t make any money.”

    “It’s not about money. It’s about doing what makes you happy.”

    “Oh, honey, it’s absolutely about money. Thankfully your new man is a big stepper. I’m about to upgrade your whole life. When I’m done with you, you might not even want to work anymore.”

    “I seriously doubt that. I haven’t wasted all this time and energy for nothing.”

    “You say that now. I want to see what you have to say after I finish upgrading you,” he refuted.

    “That’s big talk for a man on his first date,” I teased, deciding to entertain hisment.

    “I talk big shit, but I can back it up.”

    “I hear you.”

    “I can show you better than I can tell you.”

    I grinned knowing that he would do whatever it took to prove that his money was better than my education. As much as I didn’t like his thought process, the foster care system didn’t raise a fool. I was not turning down any amount of money from this man who wanted to throw it on me just to impress me.

    “I’m looking forward to it,” I told him.

    As the wait staff ced our domed tes in front of us, the energy around me shifted. I felt his looming presence before I could turn and see him striding across the room like he owned everything in the building, including me. His walk was cool and sexy with just a slight dip in his step like he wasn’t from this world any more than I was.

    I knew a hood nigga when I saw one. It didn’t matter how much he’d paid for his suit or the te with barely enough food to feed a toddler. He wasn’t one of these people, yet unlike me, he looked like he belonged here. His very presencemanded the attention of every person in his vicinity. I was so enthralled with him that I could barely tear my eyes away from him to hear what Brendan was babbling about.

    “Have you ever had truffles?” he asked.

    I scrunched my nose. “The candy?”

    He found that amusing. The smile that stretched his lips caused one of my own.

    “We’ll have to fly to France to try some authentic ones. For now, these are pretty good,” he said.

    After spearing whatever concoction was on his te, he reached out and ced his hand under my chin. I watched him closely, praying that I didn’t cause a scene when he inevitably tried to feed me. As he pushed his fork up to my lips, I considered telling him that I didn’t eat things I didn’t recognize. Instead of protesting, I parted my lips allowing the strange tastingbination to coat my tongue.

    “You can save your frequent flyer miles on this one,” I said, shaking my head as I tried to keep a straight face and choke it down.

    “It’s an acquired taste,” he advised me.

    “Why would I want to acquire the taste for something that’s inessible anyway?” I quizzed.

    “Nothing is inessible to you anymore, beautiful. You’re with me now.”

    That actually made me feel good. Brendan was arrogant and full of himself, but it felt good that he wanted to show me another life. Lord knows I had lived the life I was living long enough. A smile parted my lips when he reached up and dabbed the corner of my mouth with his napkin. Maybe he wasn’t all that bad after all.