Home / Cheap Love, Cheap Man / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of Cheap Love, Cheap Man: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

I'd taken half the day off specifically to marry Yale Carter, only to find him spending it with Yvonne Chandler instead.I caught a cab back to the office, and on the way, I spotted the two of them wandering through the food stalls nearby. Yale had apparently turned into Yvonne's personal ATM. If something caught her eye, he bought it for her, no questions asked.He'd never once treated me that way.Yale didn't come home until after midnight, looking happier than I'd seen him in a long time. The smile stayed on his face right up until he turned on the living room light and found me waiting on the couch.His expression stiffened. "Why are you sitting here in the dark?""Waiting for you. Where were you this afternoon?""At work. Where else?"He turned away to change his shoes, and that told me everything. After all these years, he still couldn't look me in the eye when he lied."I went back to the office this afternoon. You weren't there."Yale finally faced me, one eyebrow raised. "I'm

Chapter 2

I gave Yale an odd look. "You wouldn't spend $10 on a processing fee so we could get married, but you'll pay for dinner?""I'm not cheap. I just don't see the point in spending money when we don't have to.""Fine. I'll cover everything. The license, the fees, even your ride there. You won't have to spend a cent. Will you come with me and make it official?"Yale didn't even have to think about it. "Why are you still separating your money from mine? We're basically husband and wife already. What's yours is mine and what's mine is yours."Besides, what difference does a license make? We've been together all these years without one. And company policy says managers can't date their direct reports. What we have now works just fine."I glanced around the apartment. We'd furnished the entire place according to the same rule Yale applied to me: if it wasn't on sale, we didn't need it."We don't even have one picture together. How is this 'just fine'? You've done more for Yvonne than you've eve

Chapter 3

"If she never gets the chance to make mistakes, how is she supposed to grow? We all had to start somewhere."What a joke.When I'd been the newcomer with a better proposal than the senior employees, Yale had still put one of them in charge, saying experience deserved respect. Now that Yvonne was the newcomer, suddenly being young meant she deserved a chance.Apparently, the rules changed depending on who I was up against. I was the only sucker who lost either way.Yvonne rose from her chair in a fluster, waving both hands. "Mr. Carter, you're giving me way too much credit. I only threw out an idea. I wouldn't even call it a proposal. Ms. Winters should still be the one overseeing the project."Yale dismissed that with a shrug. "She's the director. Her job is to make the final call. Her staff handles the details. Don't give her too much credit. Anyone sitting in that chair could've produced the same proposal."My team's expressions darkened."Besides," he continued, "you can't be afraid

Chapter 4

I looked at Yale. He said nothing as he arranged the flowers and other things we'd brought for Dad, apparently seeing nothing wrong with what Yvonne had said."I can afford my dad's cemetery fees just fine. But if you're worried your own kids won't be able to afford yours someday, you might want to leave instructions to scatter your ashes at sea."Yvonne's mouth twitched. "I'm sorry, Zoe. I was just talking without thinking. I didn't mean to offend you."Yale immediately stepped between us. "Zoe Winters, she made one thoughtless comment. Did you really have to say something that nasty?"Interesting. When Yvonne insulted me, he'd kept his mouth shut. I gave her the same treatment, and suddenly he couldn't stand it.Mom hurried in before the argument could get any worse. "Zoe, let it go. It's the anniversary of your father's passing. Let's not fight today.""I'm so sorry," Yvonne said. "I really do have a bad habit of speaking before I think. I didn't mean to upset either of you."Her mo

Chapter 5

"I didn't forget about taking your friends to dinner tomorrow. I've already reserved a private room. You can all head straight there."A second message followed with the restaurant address. One look at the place told me he'd spared no expense this time.The next evening, my friends gathered around the table, looking almost suspicious of the private dining room."Seriously? Yale Carter, the cheapest man alive, is actually treating us here? This place has to run at least a hundred bucks a person."I smiled. "Actually, dinner's on me. I have some good news."That got everyone's attention."Corporate offered me a transfer. I'm taking over as general manager of the Aster City office."The table erupted."Congratulations! Wait, doesn't that put you at the same level as Yale?""Pretty much.""That's huge. But Aster City? You two are going to be long-distance. Have you told him yet?"I shook my head. Before I could explain, my phone rang.Yale Carter.I answered, but the voice on the other end

Chapter 6

Private Dining RoomYale arrived exactly an hour late.Outside the private room, he stopped to scroll through his messages with Zoe. It had been a long time since she'd replied to any of them, and the silence left him uneasy.Still, when he thought about everything that had happened lately, none of it seemed that serious. They'd fought over a handful of little things, and he'd already explained himself. Zoe was upset with him, that was all. She'd cool off eventually.Reassured by that thought, he opened the door.The familiar faces around the table put him even more at ease."Sorry, everyone. Something came up, so I'm a little late."Instead of answering, they all gave him strange looks. Under their stares, even Yale started to feel awkward.He searched the room for Zoe. Once, then again.She wasn't there."Where's Zoe?""She left."Yale froze. "Left? I said I was taking everyone to dinner. Where did she go? She didn't even send me a message."One of her friends, Gene Murray, answered

Chapter 7

Even if Yale had no idea what Yvonne had said to me, everything he'd done to hurt me before that was apparently no big deal in his eyes.Then again, why would it be?I was only a stand-in. Someone he didn't love. Of course hurting me was no big deal.But it didn't matter anymore. None of it had anything to do with me now.Aster City meant a new office and a fresh start. For the first time, I wasn't working under Yale.I'd built a solid track record over the years, and now I finally had the chance to run an office myself. Once I'd gotten settled, I reached out to the people on my old team. After finding out who was willing to relocate, I submitted transfer requests to corporate on their behalf.Some had families tying them to their old jobs, but quite a few chose to follow me to Aster City.What I hadn't expected was for Yale to follow me too."Why is he here?""No idea. I heard he took time off to come."Yale walked toward me with dark circles under his eyes."Zoe, I need to talk to y

Chapter 8

As our argument grew louder, people around the coffee shop started looking over.I strode out of the cafe. Yale winced when he saw the bill, paid it anyway, then hurried after me."Zoe, I know I handled things badly before."I just thought if we're going to spend the rest of our lives together, we need to be careful with money. My parents are getting older. You have your mom to support. And if we get married, we'll probably have kids someday."Jobs aren't exactly secure these days. What if we both end up unemployed? I was trying to save for our future."I couldn't be bothered to argue.It all sounded perfectly reasonable until you looked at who was actually expected to make the sacrifices.Me. My family.He'd never pinched pennies when it came to his parents. And Yvonne certainly hadn't gotten the same treatment I had.Even after I stopped responding, Yale refused to leave me alone. Every morning, he followed me to work. Every evening, he followed me home. He kept explaining himself, o

Chapter 9

For one hopeful second, Yvonne mistook Yale's admission for an opening.Then he said, "I'll notify HR that you're being terminated. From here on out, you're on your own. You and I have nothing to do with each other anymore.""Yale!" She hurried after him and caught his arm. "You can't do this to me!"He pulled away without hesitation. "I've done everything I reasonably could for you because of our history. Keep pushing this, and I won't be so accommodating next time."Whatever lingering obligation Yale had felt toward Yvonne ended there. He turned his attention back to Zoe, going so far as to volunteer for an assignment in Aster City so he could stay close to her. In his mind, seven years together still counted for something. Zoe had always had a soft heart, and he was convinced that if he kept at it long enough, she'd eventually take him back....By the time Yale turned up in Aster City again, I'd already moved Mom out to live with me. His attempts to win me over had gotten him nowh

Chapter 10

Simon didn't let go of my hand. If anything, his grip tightened.He met Yale's stare without a trace of alarm. Instead, he was calm and steady in a way that immediately put me at ease. "Don't worry. Your mom told me about what happened before. It doesn't bother me. It only makes me wish you hadn't had to go through it."I drew a deep breath and turned to Yale with a mocking look. "Why would I ever take you back? We were together for seven years. Even when I was so sick I could barely function, you refused to take me to a doctor. When I tried to go on my own, you took my phone away and told me medical care was a waste of money, that I should just tough it out."Seven years, Yale, and not once did you make me feel like I was your girlfriend. You showed more concern for Yvonne than you ever did for me."So what makes you think I'd choose someone as cold and heartless as you to spend the rest of my life with?"These were the same grievances that had once hurt so badly I could hardly bear t

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