004

ROSE

The man standing beside me was twice as tall as me and I was on block heels. His shirt was strained at the top three buttons because it was trying to accommodate his sculpted chest. It wasn't fair that some people had it all: wealth, good looks, a mouthwatering body and a perpetual good hair day. I had done my best to put myself in order but I was nowhere close to his standard.

I wiped my lips with the back of my hand and he eyed me with disgust he did not try to hide. The stench of what I had thrown up had already ruined my rep; what could he possibly want from me?

“I don't think I heard you correctly. Did you say we could be of help to each other?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, irritated with having to repeat himself again. “Yes. You have a problem I can solve and I have a problem you can solve,” he explained slowly as if he was speaking to a dumb child. “So, it only makes sense that we help each other out. How many fingers am I holding up?” he suddenly held up a hand and I frowned, wondering what he was up to.

“Three,” I replied, roling my eyes. He said nothing, holding up another amount. “One. . .what is this?” I ended the stupid game before he could continue.

“I have to make sure you are not high on some substance before letting you into my car. I can't afford to be pulled over for driving with a substance abuser.”

That was it. I was so done with his superior air. “Look, I don't know who you think you are but—you want to give me a lift?”

He sighed, sounding like he was getting older with every word he said to me. Was it my fault? Maybe if he was straightforward instead of being vague and confusing, I wouldn't be asking a lot of questions.

“You don't know who I am?” His tone was incredulous like he couldn't believe there was someone on the planet ignorant of his identity. Was I supposed to know who he was? I could admit that he looked faintly familiar but I was not acquainted with the rich and privileged.

I had a mini heart attack when I recognized the wristwatch he was sporting. It was the same Rolex as the one the man I had slept with owned but they couldn't be the same person. Firstly, the rich liked flashy things so, it would not be unusual if the two men had similar taste in watches. Also, it felt like an insult to even suggest that the man beside me could be involved in something as belittling as paying for sex. No, women would be crawling around him, falling over each other to score a night with him for free.

Just like I had fallen into that bedroom last night.

My cheeks suddenly heated and I hid my face when I felt the intelligent blue eyes watching me like a hawk. Jeez, they were so blue and bold, his All-American looks completed by silky blonde hair. I was tempted to touch it just to know if it was as soft as it looked but I had a feeling he would not be on board with that. His hair was higher on top, combed and smoothened backwards. Everything about him spelled dollar currencies and I was supposed to know who he was?

“No, I don't k—”

“Perfect. Come with me,” he ordered and walked away, mindlessly expecting me to follow behind him. My legs magically went where he did and I cursed my innate submissive nature. At least, his bossiness had given me an inkling of who he could be. He was either a CEO or a very wealthy gym instructor. He did not get too far, stopping a few feet away and took out a black palm-sized object. He pointed it in front of him and I was blown away by what happened next.

The doors of a silver coloured car came on, the bright headlights blinding me momentarily and. . .was that a fucking Tesla? For the second time, what could the owner of a Tesla want from me?

“Get in. The garage boys will take care of your mess. But if you throw up in this car, I will throw you out the window.”

That mean voice. . . .where had I heard it before?

* * *

“Stop snivelling. It's childish,” he scolded me and pointed to a tiny bucket filled with baby wipes. Yeah, give baby wipes to the girl you just called childish because that was real mature. “Tell me about yourself instead.”

I had not gotten over the fact that I was in a self-driving car while chilling in the back with a possible billionaire and said billionaire wanted to know more about me? I must have done something right in a past life. My eyes drifted to my dead phone and immediately I remembered that my stepfather was still in the custody of loan sharks, my mood fell.

“Thank you for the lift, sir but I have a—”

“I'm not giving you a lift,” he scoffed, resting his right leg over his left knee. Damn, did he get off on interrupting people? “That phone call earlier, tell me about that.”

I really shouldn't be telling a total stranger my family business but he did not know who I was and I was probably dreaming. Either ways, I would never see him again so, what did I have to lose?

“My mom called me before to tell me that. . .my stepfather has been kidnapped.” I paused, expecting a reaction from him but his handsome face didn't even twitch. Okay. . . “They contacted my mother this morning, asking for their money and it sums up to—”

“Five hundred thousand dollars,” he completed, his voice dry and his expression blank. Wow, he really had been eavesdropping on my conversation with my boss. “And you don't have it?”

His question felt like a slap to my face, his stating the obvious bringing tears to my eyes. “No. No, I don't.” Don't cry, don't cry!

“How did you get into Smoky Paradise then or did you only get as far as the garage?” Jesus, could he be any more rude?

“If you must know, I got in with a friend's membership card. She gave it to me last year before she. . .before she passed away and I didn't find the need to use it until. . .last night.” Sweet Paula, the only friend I ever had had passed away after an appendicitis surgery gone wrong.

A cloud passed over his face and his lips thinned. He had also lost someone, it seemed and I had reminded him of his loss.

“What was different about last night?” His voice was surprisingly softer now and it was the straw that broke the camel's back. I opened up and told him everything, from my two years overdue student loan to the continuous harassing calls from the bank. At some point, I started crying and he quietly pushed wipes into my hand. When I was done embarrassing myself, I could not bear to look him in the eye. What did he think of me now?

He dug into a small satchel by his left and took out a chequebook. My eyes widened as he wrote a cheque of six hundred thousand dollars, scrawled his signature on the dotted line and tore it out. What was going on? He handed it over to me and I slid backwards on the comfortable cushion, moving away from him.

“No, there's no way. . .what's the catch?” I asked immediately and he smirked, the right corner of his lips lifting.

“I'm glad you are not as stupid as you look.” Ouch! “I will help you pay your stepfather's debt and get him released to you. You just have to do one thing for me first.”

“Me?” I blurted, barking out a laugh. “What could I possibly do for you?”

“Marry me and you won't have to worry about money ever again.”

What?!