Chapter Six
First Time We Met In Person
The maitre d’ looked down his snobby nose at me. “May I help you?”
I looked around nervously, the shiny and sparkling interior of the restaurant making me nervous. I knew my dress was outdated by many years and I looked shabby compared to the people dining inside.
“Ah…” I licked my lips and he sighed as if he were bored. “Um, Mister Bradley Blackwell. I’m having dinner with him. My name is Lucy…er, Lucille.”
The man’s eyebrows rose as if he didn’t believe me. “One moment, let me go see if he is here.”
Yep, he definitely didn’t believe me. So, I stood there awkwardly, people eyeing me as they walked by while I waited. If he’d wanted to embarrass me, he’d certainly achieved it.
Why had I come here again?
The man returned, the scowl on his face replaced by a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Follow me.”
As we approached the table, I smiled as Bradley stood up.
He looked just like his picture. He hadn’t put any up on the site, but after a few email exchanges and phone calls, had sent me a few. Due to his profession, his privacy was of utmost importance.
I hadn’t realized how tall six-three was until I stood next to him. Even at five-eight, I still felt really small next to him. He nodded at the maitre d’ and pulled out my chair.
“Thank you,” I said softly as I sat.
He sat to my right and a waiter instantly approached.
“What would you like to drink Lucy?” Bradley’s voice was soft and deep, just as rich as it sounded on the telephone.
“Just water, please.”
The waited walked off and I realized Bradley already had a drink — a brandy — which I would quickly come to know as his drink of choice.
“Are you nervous?” He gave a pointed glance at my hands, which were twisting the napkin, then smiled. “Don’t be nervous. I don’t bite.”
I returned his smile with one of my own as the waiter returned with my water. We ordered food and then, we were all alone. Well, as alone as two people could be in a restaurant full of other diners.
“Did you have a nice trip?”
He held his glass in one hand, taking a drink as I watched him. When he swallowed, I stared at his neck, which was bared, his shirt unbuttoned a little as if he’d come straight here from work. Which he probably had since he said he worked a lot.
“Uh…yes, I did. Thank you.”
“Are you going to thank me repeatedly this evening?” He smiled, letting me know he was teasing, but my face heated anyway. “Ah, come on now. Don’t be shy. Be just like you were on the phone. You’re very charming.”
His words made me blush even more. “Well…,” I said. “First class was interesting. I’d never flown that way before.”
I felt like an idiot talking about the flight, but it was all I could think to say.
He looked down at my dress before coming back to my eyes. “I thought you might like it.”
Of course, he’d paid for the entire trip. I could never afford to fly first class; hell, I’d only ever flown once before in my life and that had been when I was just a teenager. I had a feeling this glimpse of his world was only just the beginning.
“Yes, I did. Thank—“ I cut off and he chuckled.
“You are adorable, Lucy.” His face sobered as I stared at him, enchanted with his laugh. “Do you like what you see?”
My mouth went dry. Of course I did. He was an incredibly handsome man and he found me attractive. I nodded.
“Good,” he said with a grin. “Do you want to do what we talked about?”
He was referring to the ‘job’ he’d offered me. On paper, it would be as his personal assistant. In reality, I’d be his companion, visiting him once a month to spend time with him — doing things such as going out to dinner, to the movies, or whatever else he wanted to do. It would be Friday afternoon to Sunday morning. He wanted the dating experience without the emotions.
No falling in love, that had been his rule number one.
Sex had only been spoken of once — but he’d made it clear that he wasn’t paying me for sex. If it happened, then it did but that wasn’t what the money was for. The money was for my time.
Then he’d named a figure and my mouth had dropped open, even though we’d been on the phone and he couldn’t see me.
“But, I won’t even be spending even forty-eight hours with you! That’s too much,” I’d declared. “Plus you’d be paying for my flights.”
“Lucy, second rule is to never argue with me. If you accept, that’s the amount; I won’t hear it about it after that. Got it?”
So there I sat and now he wanted to know if I accepted everything. Accepted the position as his companion, with the amount he’d specified plus anything extra he decided to give me. And once I said yes, all it would take was one ‘no’ to end it.
His grey eyes never left mine, waiting for an answer. He seemed so relaxed though; not at all tied up like I was on the inside. The money would be so helpful. Really, it could change my life. I’d be silly to turn it down, but I didn’t know how long it would last. He could change his mind at any time and I’d have to go back to my dreary existence of fast food work that left me drained at the end of the night, and wouldn’t ever go any further unless I could get my education.
I smiled at him and nodded, saying the words that would change my life in more ways than I could know in that moment.
“Yes, I accept.”
It was official - I was a sugar baby.
And after dinner, he took me back to his place so we could work out the other things, such as a key so I could prepare for his arrival home if I were to arrive when he wasn’t there and where everything was located.
Then, we watched a movie before he showed me to the guest room after telling me we would take things slow.
Not once did he touch me and that was rule three.
I was never to touch him unless he touched me first.
Then he’d leaned in and kissed my forehead before leaving me to go to his room.
Leaving me alone to wonder if I’d just made the best or worst decision of my life.
The fact I didn’t know the answer worried me most of all.