Chapter 24
Lacey
When I woke up this morning, all I could think was thank God it’s Friday. This week had been a train wreck. Classes were kicking my ass, but I somehow managed. If there was one thing I was great at, it was schoolwork. When I was in grade school, I used to beg my teachers for homework. The funny part was they didn’t send home actual homework until around fourth grade. So, my parents used to buy me these learning books. I would sit at the kitchen table every day after school until dinner working on whatever subject I chose that day. My favorite class had always been English. I loved being creative, hence my passion for creative writing, which came at an early age.
I wanted today to go by quickly, so I could go home and sleep all weekend. I had done so much homework this week that I could take the weekend off. When it was time to leave my last class, I felt like I had slept the day away. Honestly, I don’t remember a thing about any of my classes. I was exhausted.
My phone started to buzz in my backpack. “Hello?” I answered, peeved.
“Yes, Lacey? This is Dr. Shepard. I had a request come through last night. Did you get my email?”
Honestly, I had, but I didn’t open it. I wasn’t interested in doing anything at this point. I wanted to focus on school. I could afford not to work right now after the money I got from Matteo. Although, I didn’t know how to break the news to him.
“Well, I hadn’t opened it yet. I wasn’t quite ready for another job,” I replied.
He replied hesitantly, “Well, I think it’s in your best interest to take this one. I think if you read the email, there is no way you will want to turn it down. I’ll hang up and let you decide, but I’ll need to know within the next hour, so it can be arranged. It’s for tonight.”
He hung up abruptly. What was so enticing that I wouldn’t be able to turn it down? I made it up to my dorm room and pulled out my laptop. Pulling up my email, I clicked on it.
A request has been made for your presence at a business dinner. September 23rd at five p.m. The compensation will be $3,000. Please email back at your earliest convenience so we can update the client.
Wow,$3,000? He was right. It was a lot of money for just a couple hours of my time. I immediately replied to the email with a distinctive yes. I felt a smile on my face, realizing that at this rate, I wouldn’t have to get a real job while working for Dr. Shepard. In a matter of one month, I would have made $13,000. If I were to get a real job, I’d make at most $1,000 a month on minimum wage.
A chime came through, and it was him.
Thank you for your response. Matteo will contact you within the hour to discuss the details.
Matteo? Oh, shit! I thought to myself, would I have said yes if I knew it was Matteo? There was no way I could back out now. I smacked myself, wishing I would have asked who it was for first. Right now, all I could do was wait for a message from him.
Angela walked in like she always did, complaining about her day. Sometimes I wished for a new roommate. Other times, I was glad she was around, so I could borrow her clothes for things like this. Some time passed listening to Angela complain, but when I looked at the clock, it was already three. I picked up my phone to find no text messages. Screw it, I’ll just text him.
Me: What should I wear?
I waited on a response. Hell, I had no clue how dressed up I needed to be. I’d never really been to a business dinner before.
Matteo: That fuchsia dress will be fine. Curls too, please.
Wow, did he think he could tell me how to wear my hair too? Just for that, it was getting straightened. I was doing this for the money, not him personally. He didn’t get to tell me how to wear my hair. I thought about wearing a different dress, but I didn’t really have much else to wear. Angela’s dresses were too slutty for a business dinner.
Matteo: I will pick you up at five p.m. sharp at our normal place.
It took almost forty-five minutes just to straighten my hair out of spite. Honestly, curls would have been much easier, but I wanted to get a dig at him. He didn’t have the right to tell me how I wore my hair.
I pulled on the fuchsia dress he requested. I slid on my strappy black heels, then applied some ruby-red lipstick and perfected my smoky eyes. I did a once-over in the mirror and had to admit I looked damn good. One thing I knew for sure, he wouldn’t be able to keep his eyes off me tonight. Crap, wait, no, I didn’t want him staring at me all night? Or did I? Honestly, I didn’t even want to think about it. I just wanted to get this night over with, collect my money, and get back to my life.
I needed to remember who Matteo really was, that he wasn’t that sweet man on the trip, but an arrogant asshole. Tonight, I needed to be semi-nice and get through the night to collect my money. That was all. No games or underlying wishes.