Dressing

At exactly 8:25 a.m., Liliana stepped into the pristine lobby, her pulse tapping an anxious rhythm against her neck. Despite being early, the sleek black town car was already waiting at the curb, its glossy surface gleaming like obsidian in the morning sun.

The driver stepped out as she approached, his expression professional and unreadable. “Miss Vale,” he greeted with a small nod, just as he had the morning before. He opened the rear door for her without hesitation.

The routine was the same, but she was not.

As she slid into the back seat, her skirt inching higher on her thighs than she would’ve liked, Lili became painfully aware of herself in a way she hadn’t been yesterday. She tugged it down as much as she could, but there wasn’t much to work with. Her reflection in the mirror before she left had stopped her cold. The girl looking back at her had been polished, styled, expensive.

After the healthiest meal she’d had in months, organic oatmeal with berries and almond butter from the fridge, she’d followed a prenatal yoga video on the gym’s wall-mounted screen, moving through stretches with soft pink dumbbells and matching mats. Then she’d curled up on one of the absurdly soft sofas with a fuzzy blanket to binge reality TV while sipping chamomile tea.

And no one stopped her. No one knocked to say she didn’t belong here. No one handed her a bill.

She’d had the quietest, calmest day of her life.

And yet, it had exhausted her more than a ten-hour shift at the florist.

She’d gone to bed just after sunset and slept for ten full hours, waking to an entirely new reality.

The clothes had arrived.

She’d walked out to the penthouse’s vast foyer to find it transformed. A sea of luxury, designer garment bags, stacked boxes with gold lettering, racks of clothing, and curated collections arranged like a boutique. Soft tissue paper peeked out of bags. Silk ribbons held tags with her name.

Someone, likely multiple someones, had done all of this while she slept.

And the message was unmistakable: this was what she was expected to wear.

There had been delicate silk pajamas in pastels she could get used to. Casual pieces too, high-end jeans, chic tops, plush sweaters. Even a pair of shearling-lined flats.

But the office attire had been unmistakably… curated.

A row of fitted white blouses. Several very short dark skirts. Black stockings. And a range of designer heels that were all high enough to make her ankles nervous.

The underwear had drawn a nervous laugh from her lips: nothing but lace thongs and front-clasp bras, in shades of ivory, blush, and black.

She hadn’t dared to think too long about how they knew her size.

Now, sitting in the back of the town car, the soft leather cool beneath her thighs, she tugged once more at the hem of the skirt and exhaled slowly.

She was on her way to spend the day with two men who had offered her ten million dollars.

And there was no doubt in her mind, they intended to make sure she earned every cent.

***

The moment she stepped back into the towering office building, Lili’s pulse quickened again. The same receptionist from before greeted her with a polite smile and directed her wordlessly to the elevators.

The ascent felt longer this time.

As she rose higher, the memory of Cade’s amused smile and Beckett’s cold stare swirled in her chest like smoke. Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her blouse, smoothing it for the hundredth time. She glanced at her reflection in the mirrored wall, trying to gather herself.

Was it her imagination, or did she look even more like someone else's fantasy now?

When the elevator doors parted with a soft chime, she stepped out into the familiar hushed corridor. The polished floor seemed to gleam with expectation. A waiting assistant, dressed immaculately in black, greeted her with a nod.

“Right this way, Miss Vale.”

Lili followed, every step echoing too loud in her own ears.

The doors loomed ahead. The same enormous, intimidating double doors from the day before.

The assistant knocked once, then pushed them open.

Lili stepped inside.

There was a change in the room. Where one desk had been, imposing enough on its own, there were now two. And behind them sat both brothers.

Cade, lounging with casual dominance, looked up first. His dark hair was slightly tousled, storm-gray eyes sharpening with interest. He wore a tailored navy suit, the cut so precise it almost looked carved into his frame. That knowing smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Beckett was beside him, seated with stiff posture, his all-black ensemble accentuating the sharpness of his jaw and the forbidding line of his mouth. Despite the disdain smoldering in his gaze, his eyes trailed down her body, as if he couldn’t stop himself from tracing every inch of her outfit.

She felt their stares like heat licking along her skin.

Cade stood first, easy and fluid, and approached with the smooth grace of a man who always got what he wanted.

“I hope you found the apartment comfortable,” he said.

“Yes, thank you. It was... incredible,” Lili replied, her voice holding steady by sheer force of will.

She’d half-hoped that proximity might dull the illusion. That up close, some flaw would reveal itself in Cade’s impossibly handsome face. But no. He was even more devastating at this distance. Late twenties, she guessed, though there was a youthful arrogance to him that contrasted sharply with Beckett’s older, colder composure. She was sure Beckett had to be the elder of the two.

“And I hope the clothes were alright,” he added, gaze dipping to her thighs and back again. “They suit you.”

“They're lovely,” she said, then hesitated. “The skirts are, um, a little shorter than I’m used to—”

“Ah,” he interrupted smoothly, “I think you’ll find them quite helpful.”

He took another step closer, eyes gleaming with a sharper, darker amusement.

“Let’s not forget your primary goal here, Miss Vale—as our ‘surrogate’, your main objective should be to entice my brother and I to fuck you as often as possible.”