AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Here.”
He shoves the garment bag at me and turns to leave.
“Wait! You aren’t going to charge me?”
“Already been paid for.”
Then he’s gone, and I’m left there standing on the porch like an idiot holding the bag. What just happened here? I’ve never ordered a dress to be delivered, and this bag seems heavy enough to be multiple dresses.
“What did you get?”
“I don’t know.”
Beatrice does, though. She reaches for the bag and carries it to the kitchen table, which is clean. Beatrice likes a clean house. Even though I like to complain about her having her friends over, she’s very tidy. She doesn’t leave messes. She definitely doesn’t leave crumbs or anything like that on the table. So I feel comfortable with her opening the garment bag.
She pulls out a note.
“Miss Sparrow,” Beatrice reads. “I expect you to dress professionally.” She looks up at me.
“Who is that from?”
“Obviously, Ryan.”
“Did he sign his name?”
She flips the card around and sure enough, he’s signed his name.
“Mr. Shadowvale.”
“I think he wants you to call him that.”
“What do you call him?”
“Ryan, obviously.”
“Then I should probably just call him Ryan, too,” I point out. “I don’t know how formal this boss-employee relationship is going to be, but I don’t think we need to be that serious about it.”
“Word to the wise, my friend. If Ryan Shadowvale wants you to call him Mr. Shadowvale, just do it. Look at this.”
She starts pulling outfits from the bag. There are ten.
“Two weeks’ worth of work clothes,” she tells me. “You won’t have to do repeats.”
“Why the hell would he send me clothes?” I feel embarrassed. Again. Is what I wore not good enough? I should be thankful, but all I can do is wonder whether the cost of these clothes is coming out of my paycheck because I really, really can’t afford that.
“He wants you to look nice.”
“I feel like I’m fine.”
“Dude.” Beatrice looks up at me and glares. “Are you this dumb, Alex?”
“Excuse me?”
“If the richest dude in town wants you to work for him, you do it. And if he wants you to wear these clothes, you do it.”
“And if he wants me to suck his dick?” I ask, pushing her.
“Do it,” she says without missing a beat. She smiles. Then she turns back to the outfits and starts leafing through them. “These are great.”
