Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 48412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 242(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 242(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
“I have a dentist on retainer,” Calder retorts, shrugging. “You’re obviously keeping something from us, but regardless, I like Shawn’s little experiment. Use the maid as your plaything all week and if she hasn’t proven herself a gold digger by Friday, we’ll show up to first day of classes in the fall in matching pink tutus.”
“You would do that, anyway,” I mutter.
Calder leans in and shoulder-bumps me. “If you don’t play with her, man, I will.”
Fuck.
Panic bubbles to the surface.
If Calder purses Vida, he’ll lie to her. He won’t be kind. He’ll chew her up and spit her out because she’s too innocent for the ugly side of the flashy world I live in.
Maybe I should agree to their experiment, just to protect her?
What choice do I have?
“If she’s going to be mine for the week…to conduct this ridiculous experiment…then she’s only mine.” I look him hard in the eye. “I don’t share.”
“Too bad,” Shawn comments. “Sharing is a lot of fun.”
“Fine. I’ll keep my hands to myself if we have a bet,” Calder says, holding out his hand. “I bet she shows her social-climber nature by Friday. If you lose, though, I want that vintage Porsche that’s collecting dust at your Carmel house.”
Relieved to have protected Vida, even by unconventional means, I shake his hand.
“Fine, you got a bet. Done.”
All I hope is that I won’t regret it.
FIVE
Vida
My favorite part of the day is undoing my braid.
I stand in the locker room now and unwind my hair, massaging the stiffness from my scalp. It falls in waves around my shoulders and the tension headache that has been building all day finally releases enough that I can take a deep breath. I change into the cut-off jean shorts and tank top I wore on my bike ride to work, slip my feet into sandals, and shoulder my backpack, waving to the nightshift maids as I push out the back door.
Where Tripp is waiting for me.
He is leaning against the wall in a black T-shirt, dark brown khakis, and sunglasses, speaking into his phone. When he sees me, he hangs up and slides the device into his pocket.
“Hi, Vida.”
I’m feeling too many things at once to process them all. Pleasure that he remembers my name. That he came to see me. But mainly I’m fearful over what his interest means. Rich young men don’t have pure intentions toward girls like me. I’ve heard the cautionary tales too many times to count. We’re an easy mark. Wealthy people marry other wealthy people, making us, working-class girls, nothing more than a no-commitment roll in the hay.
And that kind of thing may not carry consequences for him, but it will for me.
“You shouldn’t be down here,” I say, lurching for the bike rack. “I’m not supposed to socialize with guests. I could get fired.”
“I just want to talk.” He gives me a lopsided smile and pushes off the wall. “I won’t let you get fired.”
I hunker down to enter the combination to my lock. “How can you guarantee that?”
“Well…” He scrubs the back of his neck. “In addition to being an investor in this resort, my godfather owns the property.”
“Of course he does,” I sigh, stowing my lock in the front pocket of my backpack before standing. Reluctantly, I lift my gaze and study the man who towers over me. He’s self-assured and attractive and hyper-focused on me, making it very hard to simply get on my bike and ride away. Even though that’s exactly what I should be doing. “You and I don’t have a lot to talk about, sir.”
A muscle jumps in his cheek over my use of sir.
“How do you know?”
“We live in different worlds.” I search for the right words. “Even if we’re able to have a nice conversation, we both know you only want one thing from me. Because while you might have a lot to offer me, I only have one thing to offer you. That’s why you’re here.”
“You really get right to the point, don’t you, Vida?” he says dryly.
“Am I wrong?”
He exhales, crossing his arms. The ocean breeze ripples around us as the seconds tick by.
“Look, you’re not wrong,” he finally responds, stepping closer to me. Close enough that I can smell his addictive scent of musk and grapefruit. “I’m here because I want to sleep with you. After yesterday, that should be obvious. But I also want to take you to dinner tonight. I want to get to know you, Vida.” He reaches out and catches some wavy strands of my hair between his fingers, tucking them behind my ear. “I’m sure you’ve encountered a lot of douchebags while working here. I probably know a lot of them. But I’m not them.”
“That’s what you would say. If you were a douchebag.”
His masculine lips twitch with humor.