Paid To Love

Episode 7

Paid To Love: EPISODE 7

I gave an awkward laugh. “Er, yeah. It’s affordable. I’m almost ready. You can come up and wait if you want.”

His frowned, clearly not liking the idea.

“Um...never mind, you can stay here. I’ll be right back down. Lock your doors.”

His eyebrows shot up but I turned my back on him and jogged back into my apartment. I hoped jeans and a t-shirt was acceptable for wherever we were going because I didn’t really have anything else.

I stepped into the bathroom to throw on some light makeup and fix my hair. I pursed my lips at my reflection. No matter how I looked at myself, I couldn’t imagine standing next to Henry. He was so proper and handsome... and I wasn’t. Everything about me looked cheap. Even my hair.

Sighing, I left the bathroom, trying to spare myself some self-confidence. I slipped into my sneakers and grabbed my purse, making sure to lock my door before I left. Unsure of when I’d return, I left the hallway light on.

I returned to the BMW, walking over to the passenger’s side and paused. This would be the first time we’d be completely alone. I took a deep breath before sliding in, shutting the door after me. “Hi,” I said, turning to Henry.

Immediately I knew I was underdressed. He was wearing a black shirt and with a navy blue blazer. I followed his torso down until it met a shiny black belt holding up his black jeans.

Well, at least he’s wearing jeans.

He caught me staring and eyed me for a moment so I redirected my attention to the interior of his car. It was pretty impressive, albeit a little dark. The leather seats were black, the wood trim was black, even the floor mats were black.

“Do you happen to have a dress in that purse of yours?” he asked me.

I shook my head. “Isn’t what I’m wearing okay?”

He stared at me and I glanced down at my shirt, immediately seeing a hole in it big enough to show part of my bra. Sucking in a breath of surprise, I pulled my shirt up so the extra material would cover it.

“I figured we’d have to get you something, so I already made an appointment for you,” he said, unfazed.

“An appointment?”

“You’ll see,” he answered, shifting the car into drive and pulling onto the road.

I was impressed at how smooth the movement was. The street wasn’t in the best shape, but I didn’t feel any of the bumps I was used to. “I like your car,” I blurted out before I could help myself.

An arrogant smile crossed his face. “Thank you. I just traded in my old one for this one.”

“How much was it?” I asked before I could help myself.

“A little over $80,000.”

My jaw almost dropped. How could he say that so casually? I could buy over five cars for the price of just this one!

“Don’t give me that look,” he said, keeping his eyes on the road. “This is a very modest car for my family. There are more expensive BMWs. I just happen to like this one.”

I sunk into my seat a little bit. “Must be nice,” I grumbled.

Henry gave me a sidelong glance. “Is that really your apartment?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I feel like humans shouldn’t be living in that.”

I thinned my lips. “It’s affordable.”

“Surely you can afford something better than that.”

“Not really, I’m trying to save up for college.”

“You’re not in college?”

Somehow the question from him sounded way worse than anyone else asking. It made me feel embarrassed. Which pissed me off. “Not until September because some of us actually have to work to pay off our education.” This was the first year since I graduated high school that I’d actually managed to save up enough money to afford a year’s tuition. And that was minus my loans and scholarships.

“Why doesn’t your family help you?”

Not wanting to sound like the typical oh-poor-me-my-parents-are-dead girl, I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t want nor need any pity or sympathy from him.

“Did you hear me?” he asked after a moment.

I sighed. “It’s not really any of your business nor do I want to talk about it.”

He stayed quiet for a moment. “Fine.”

Now it was awkward. But the last thing I wanted to say was ‘Hey! My mom passed away and my dad left us and my brother’s in jail, how’s your family?’ I cringed just thinking about it.

“Where are we going, anyway?” I figured I should’ve asked this in the first place.

“To the city,” he said.

City? I thought I heard him wrong. “This is the city.”

He shook his head. “No, the actual city, not this wretch you live in.”

There he goes again, taking another shot at my living conditions. “I don’t like you insulting my standards.”

He looked at me, eyeing me before looking back at the road. “Well, this is gonna be a very long ride,” I muttered to myself.

“It’ll be a quick drive. The car has Wi-Fi if you’d like to connect your phone to it.”

“A quick drive of how many minutes?” I asked, folding my arms.

“A quick drive of two hours,” he replied, not bothering glance at me.

I stared at him for a moment, my mouth open. I had to be in the car with him for two hours straight? Was he planning on kidnapping me? Oh God. I shouldn’t have been so quick to trust him. I was probably going to be sold into some human trafficking group.

No, no, no. He was too important to kidnap someone. He’d probably hire someone else to do it if he really needed to. I was safe from that, at least. I just wasn’t safe from an awkward car ride.

“Also... about the other day,” he started, clearing his throat. “James told me to— or rather, I also...” His voice became quieter. “I didn’t mean...”

“What? I’m sorry, but I can’t hear you.”

He gripped his hands on the steering wheel. “I didn’t mean to offend you the other day.”

Remembering multiple times that he offended me unconsciously; I didn’t exactly know which one he was referring to. “Which day?”

He gave me an impatient look. “Don’t make me repeat it.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Henry.”

He straightened his back. “I am sorry for making a comment about your breasts the other day,” he said quickly, then immediately looked relieved.

I groaned. Why did he have to bring that up? While we were stuck in a car for two hours?

“While I was correct in what I was saying—” he tried to continue but I cut him off, reaching over and turning on the stereo.

“Let’s listen to some music.” tuned it to my favourite radio station and turned the volume up so loud I wouldn’t be able to hear him if he spoke again.

It was going to be a long drive.

For the first half of the car ride, things went smoothly. The music stayed loud and Henry kept his mouth shut. Then around the hour mark, he turned the volume down.

“I’ll be parking my car right outside of the city and a driver will be picking us up to chauffeur us the rest of the way,” he told me.

“Why don’t we just stop at a station and ride in?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Why would I ride in on dirty public transport when I have a driver who gets paid to drive these streets?”

While I wasn’t the biggest fan of public transport either, I wouldn’t have gone that far. The subways and trains were very useful in the crowded city. We’d probably be sitting in traffic longer than it would take to ride into the city. I didn’t argue though. I figured my words would fall upon deaf ears. Henry seemed the type to do whatever he wanted no matter what anyone else said.

And I was getting paid to do this, so I didn’t have much say anyway.

“Where are we going?” I asked, looking down at my beaten up sneakers. Hopefully wherever we were eating didn’t have a dress code. I’d fail spectacularly.

“It’s a surprise,” he responded.

“So I’m going to guess that what I’m wearing isn’t going to cut it.”

“Did you think it would?”

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying not to feel insulted. “I couldn’t find any of the dresses I own. Sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for,” he said offhandedly. “I most likely would have made you change anyway.”

Breathe, Victoria, breathe. “Do you have to sound so condescending when you talk to me?” I asked, turning in my seat to give him a dirty look.

He seemed surprised. “Am I being condescending?”

He didn’t even realize it? Oh man, I was dealing with a special kind of arrogance. Just what kind of mind set did this guy have? If I had to deal with this all night, I doubted I’d survive.

As promised, Henry parked his car in a parking garage and had us picked up by a man in a suit driving a more modest looking BMW. Both of us climbed into the back seat and when we were buckled in, the driver took off. The buildings around us got taller and the streets got narrower and I knew we were getting close to the heart of the city. Predictably, we hit traffic. I expected Henry to complain, but he kept his mouth shut, just staring out the window. I turned my attention out my own window, watching the crowds of people on the sidewalks coming in and out of businesses and apartments. Crowds usually bothered me, but they rather suited the city. In an aesthetically pleasing kind of way.

“Pull over here,” Henry suddenly ordered, startling me. “Victoria, we’re getting out.”

The driver did as instructed and I immediately opened the door, wanting some fresh air. I looked around, not recognizing where we were. The older I got, the less I went into the city. The air felt stuffy and the temperature was at least ten degrees higher than it was downtown.

“This way,” Henry said and took my hand in his.

I stared at our hands, wondering if I should pull mine away. He’d mentioned handholding would be part of the contract, though, so I decided not to.