Chapter Seventeen: Cat and Mouse

“I’m keeping this dress you know,” I announced as I pulled my skirts from beneath me, ready to exit the car, “As compensation, for you dragging me to this event,”

“Like I would have much use for a dress,” he drawled, the sound smooth and dipped in honey.

“Who knows you might have a secret girlfriend, lurking around here somewhere, you sure they won’t mind that your taking me to this fancy ball?” I joked.

“I have no secret girlfriend, Miss Laurence, I do not know where you get these absurd ideas from,”

“You sure are lonely aren’t you? Having to take someone you're paying to be your date…”

I trailed off at his pointed look, just a hint of amusement and my statement unravelled itself, “Oh my god, I sound like an escort,”

“Don’t think too much about is Miss Laurence, we have a plan to enact,” I grumbled as he held out a hand, taking my palm in his and elegantly pulling me out of the sleek black car. He straightened his shirt with his free hand, making sure the buttons on his blazer were f