Ignoring his words, because he does not need an answer as to how I dress, I walk past him until I am on the side of the road to head back toward my place. I pause, thinking if that’s a smart idea, then realize he has been there before. He knows where I live, and probably a whole lot more than he’s letting me believe.
“You’re wondering if you should go toward your house, but then you realized I know exactly where you live.”
My head flicks back to him, fast.
“Am I wrong? I am hardly ever wrong.” His mouth moves, but there’s hardly any real movement. There’s no emotion; everything he says is dry and lifeless. He steps in front of me until he reaches a car that is similar to the one my boss owns. I know it’s expensive because when she purchased it, the first thing she did was bring it out and show it off. Then she told us the price tag; it was more than what I could make in years of working.
He opens the passenger door, then looks at me, his eyes on my baggy clothes before he waves to his door. “Let me take you to get your car, which I know you haven’t collected from your work.”
“What is your name?” I ask, realizing he’s never given it to me.
Oh, Thea, when was he meant to give it to you? When he kidnapped you?
I shake my head at his open door and his non-answer of my question.
So, he can know everything about me, but I am not allowed to know anything about him?
“Get in the car, Theadora, we have things to discuss.”
“You won’t hurt me?” I touch my forehead where a bruise is still forming from when he took me.
His gaze skims over the spot, then focuses back on my eyes. “No. I will not touch you at all.”
I believe him. I don’t know why, but for some reason, I do.
Walking over to his car, where he’s already standing, I climb inside, and he shuts the door behind me. Looking forward, I see the car is even flashier inside than my boss’s and think that maybe this is an upgraded model.
“You don’t plan to kidnap me again?” I ask while buckling my seatbelt.
“Not today,” he says, pushing the button to start it. He heads off in the direction of where I work. At first, no other words are spoken, and my leg starts to involuntarily bounce as I wait. He can’t seriously offer me a lift and demand I get in the car with him if he doesn’t plan to speak to me. What’s the point?
“You seem agitated. Do you get agitated a lot?” he asks with his hands firmly on the wheel, staring ahead.
“Just when I’m in a car with a kidnapper,” I retort while scrunching up my nose, but with a smile.
He huffs as if he finds my words amusing. “Maybe you should take better care of your family.”
Oh no, he didn’t just say that! He has some cheek, I will give him that. Take better care of my family? Who the fuck does he think he is? All I have ever done is take care of Lucy. In the end it got tiring, and I couldn’t keep doing it. The fact it was bringing me down as well meant I needed to allow her to stand on her own two feet. She is an adult, and it was time for her to grow up.
“You know fuck all. Keep your damn words to yourself, unless you plan to use them in a way you know is true.” My hands clutch together, and I sit there waiting for him to tell me off, to tell me he’s planning to punish me for the way I’ve just spoken to him. Anything. But he does nothing but drive in silence until my blue car comes into view parked exactly where I left it.
Guess he didn’t want to talk after all.
When he comes to a stop, he clicks the doors unlocked and stares straight ahead. “You’ll accompany me tomorrow night to a function. Your payments start then,” he growls with his fists clenched and eyebrows firmly pinched together in a scowl.
I know there’s no room for me to argue. I am to go to whatever function he wants me to and do as he asks, it’s part of the deal.
“Dress?” I ask, in a voice that I hope isn’t shaky. I don’t want to give him anything.
“Cocktail. Something will be sent to your house in the morning.”
“I have work.”
“It will be there before you leave.” He dismisses me.
I slide out of his car and head to mine, and when I turn back, he’s watching me. But I can’t make out his expression.
And that?
That’s what scares me.
Chapter Four
Theadora
My hands freeze in my hair as I’m tying my locks up into a messy bun, due to a knock on my front door that comes hard and fast. Taking a deep breath, I quickly finish tying it up and walk with steady steps to my front door. Another knock, louder this time, comes before I get there. Whoever it is, they’re impatient. Touching the door, I pull it open, but standing there is a girl with glasses on her face, black hair tied back into a tight ponytail, her lips painted red, and dressed in a black dress shirt and pencil skirt. I have never seen this woman before in my life, but the way she is looking at me makes me believe instantly that she dislikes me.
“Theadora,” she snaps.
“Thea,” I correct her.
“Yes, well, here is your dress. Be ready by six sharp. The car will be here to collect you.” She pushes the dress into my hands and turns, walking away while I watch. As she reaches a waiting black car, she turns back. “Don’t be late. He hates tardiness.” Then she climbs in and drives off.
I look down at the dress in my hands, which is covered in a bag reading Gucci. Closing the front door, I take it to my couch and lay it down, unzipping the bag. At first, I’m shocked. I’ve seen this dress online—it’s part of what I do, hunt for outfits and what is popular. This dress is one of the popular ones, and it was one of the first to come up in my search. This dress is also over four thousand dollars.
Holding it up in front of me, I admire the beautiful garment. It has slim shoulder straps. One side is gold and falls just to the knee, while the other side is black and sits higher on the upper thigh. It has rumpled fabric where the gold and black meet in the midsection.
Placing the dress back down, I shake my head and step away from it. He would have rented it. High-end clothing stores do that now, let you hire expensive dresses for a night so you can show off, then return them the next day. Our boss has been looking at doing something similar.
Grabbing my purse, I look back one more time at the dress.
Who is this man?
And what am I expected to do tonight that requires me to wear a dress that costs so much?
I’m late. Dammit! I can’t help it because work ran over. Our computer system crashed, which left us manually entering orders and hoping and praying we have the stock to cover it.
Arriving at my house at quarter to six, there’s a limousine sitting out the front. Grabbing my bag out of the car, I run past it and up the few stairs until I reach my front door.
“Theadora.” He inflects the last part of my name, making me feel like a naughty schoolgirl. “My assistant would have told you I hate tardiness. Yet, here you are, not even dressed.” I turn at the sound of his voice and see him standing at the limousine door, holding it open with one arm. He’s dressed in a black suit, and instead of a white undershirt, it’s black. It makes his amber eyes appear even darker.