“Can we talk?” Wade’s gruff voice sounds from behind me.
Without turning to see him, I say, “Maybe.” I shrug and peek at him over my shoulder. “Can you?”
“May I?” he asks, stepping up beside me.
This works every time. Make a scene, and they feel the need to console or resolve the issue when they have no idea what they’ve done wrong. “You may.”
“I was upset, because—”
“The first step is always admitting,” I say, interrupting his pause.
That causes him to chuckle before continuing. “I wanted to bid on you.”
“I told you. You didn’t have to bid on me.” I cross my arms over my chest, trying to appear smaller.
“I know. I just wanted to show you off,” he admits, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Can I give you a ride home?”
A horn honks, interrupting our conversation. Next, make him work for it. “That’s my cab. Maybe another time?”
“You’re not getting in that.” Wade grabs my hand, halting me in place.
“Yes, I am,” I say, giving the grip he has on me a little tug. “It’s my ride home.”
His facial features harden into determination before he lets go of my hand and reaches into his pocket, pulling out his clip of cash. He pulls out two twenties and hands them to the cab driver. Without saying a word to the cabby, he addresses me, “No, my driver will take you.” Then he raises his hand at the valet.
“Wait, don’t drive away,” I yell to the cab driver who still has his window open.
But Wade looks at him and commands, “Drive.” He doesn’t even spare me another glance before he is pulling away from the curb. My shoulders slump. What the fuck am I going to do now? “Let me do this for you. There’s champagne in the car. You’ll be able to relax. Let me make it up to you for this disastrous date. Plus, cabs are filled with germs.” He grimaces at the thought.
I know what he means. Activities and fluids end up on those seats, but we pretend those things don’t actually happen. That it’s only something the movies made up to scare us away or heighten a fantasy, whichever is preferred at the time. Plus, he’s trying to make it up to me for his behavior tonight, which is what I wanted.
Hook, line, and sinker. Rich men fall for the damsel every time.
His black town car pulls up to the curb, and I let out a huff. “Fine.”
That makes him smile. He thinks he’s won, but has he?
He opens the door for me, and I slide in. “I’ll see you again.”
Placing a finger on my chin as if I’m thinking, I say, “Maybe.” Playing hard to get is a game of tug-of-war. Who will be the one to tug the hardest and win?
“There’s no maybe.” He shuts the door, and the driver pulls aways from the curb.
Good, I’m counting on it.
Chapter 3
Violet
Wade’s driver drops me off at my apartment complex. I’m thankful he didn’t say anything or ask any questions when I told him where to drop me off at. It’s late and dark, but everyone knows this area. It’s called the heroine den for a reason.
When I walk up the stairs to the second floor, Merigold is nowhere in sight, and Venny’s lights from his TV still flash from behind his blinds. He probably passed out on the couch. My thoughts continue to stray toward Merigold. I hope she found a place to sleep tonight that wasn’t in Venny’s clutches. Glancing over my shoulder, I look for anyone who may be looking. I don’t want them to see me in this gown. What Venny doesn’t know won’t hurt him. The coast is clear when I unlock my door, and I slink inside before locking all three locks.
My car is in the lot down the street from the convention center. “Fuuuckkk,” I groan. I’ll have to figure that shit out in the morning, but first I need sleep.
I unzip the expensive dress, removing the buttery fabric from my body. Maybe I could sell it for my rent this week. It’s not like Wade will ask where it went later. After hanging it up, I place it in the back of my closet behind the few pairs of slacks and dress shirts I have for work. It’s the only dress in my possession. Then I wash my face, set my alarm, and go straight to bed.
“Oh, Pretty Woman” plays on my phone, letting me know it’s time to get up. The irony of the song isn’t lost on me. I actually find it comical and slightly fitting. Stretching my arms over my head, I groan in satisfaction.
I’ve almost got him where I want him. Only one last move to make.
After dressing for work, I call a cab to take me to where I left my car last night. I should have them on speed dial at this point as much as I’ve been calling them lately. Once I have all my things together, I unlatch and unlock the door. Taking a deep breath, I peek through the crack and peer around the doorframe. The morning is quiet, and the sun is just beginning to light the sky. Venny, or any one of his minions who could run and grab him, is nowhere in sight. I ease out of my apartment and quickly lock it back up. Still no sounds come from Venny’s apartment, which is good. I tiptoe past his door and creep down the stairs to make sure he doesn’t wake up, not taking any chances. Once I’ve made it to the parking lot, I stay among the shadows. I should have waited in my apartment for the cab driver, but I didn’t want them to honk and risk pulling more attention to myself as I leave.
“Violet, looking good this morning,” Honey calls.
My soul jumps out of me and dives back in when I notice it isn’t one of Venny’s usual buyers, or Venny himself for that matter.
“Gah, you scared the shit out of me.” I place my hand over my chest.
Honey throws her cigarette before striding over toward me. “I see.” She chuckles.
“What are you doing out here this early?” I ask.
Honey isn’t like the usual crowd around here. She’s a badass stripper who works hard as crap for her kids, and I fucking respect the hell out of her.
“I have to go to court this morning for child support,” she admits, running her hand over her shaved head. “I was kinda hoping you’d give me a ride, but seeing as your car isn’t here . . .
“Yeah. That’s a long story,” I tell her, folding my arms over my chest.
“Wanna talk about it?” she asks. Honey reminds me a lot of my sister who I would be closer with, if I hadn’t fucked that up.
“Nah, not really.”
She just shrugs, letting it drop.
My cab pulls up in front of us. Just in time too, since Venny hasn’t come out yet to harass me.
“Come on. You can ride with me,” I tell her.
“You sure?” Her brow raises in question.
“Shut the fuck up and come on.”
She just smiles before sliding in behind me.
After dropping Honey off at the courthouse, I drive to work. The first thing I see when I walk into the office is a vase full of fresh-cut violets sitting on my desk.
Dani doesn’t waste a minute before she is on me. “Oooooo, the date with the mayor went well, I see.”
I set my belongings down on my desk and grab the card from the flowers. “Yeah. It went pretty good,” I tell her absentmindedly as I look over what the card says.