Angelica

My first few days living in Morgan’s home and working for him were pretty boring. It quickly became apparent to me that he hadn’t been prepared to hire a live-in assistant when he made the offer because he had no idea what he wanted me to do. I should have realized when I saw the car and the house that he didn’t just own a strip club because as nice as Morgan’s was, it certainly didn’t pay for everything he owned. A man in his position already had a team of helpers to do his bidding, including an administrative assistant at the office who took care of his schedule and most of his correspondence, a cleaning service who came every other day and a grocery service who delivered everything he wanted to the house.

It took me almost another week before I came up with enough things to do for Morgan to be able to pretend like I was earning the ridiculous salary he was paying me. It wasn’t an easy task though because it seemed like my number one duty was to stay by his side. I kept my eyes open and jotted notes down for everything I saw that I thought I could take care of and presented him with my list this morning. He’d looked stunned by my list before he’d smirked smugly and agreed with my ideas—right before he’d suggested we go shopping so that I would be properly dressed for the job. When I’d tried to argue, he’d just pointed out that I was representing him since most of what I’d come up with was me running interference between him and his army of helpers. He’d made it impossible to say no and I’d found myself bundled into his car and swept off to Nordstrom’s before I’d known what was happening.

“Welcome to Nordstrom’s Mr. Cadwell,” an elegant redheaded woman closer to Morgan’s age greeted him as he led me into a changing room set off to the side. Her green eyes sparkled as she looked at him, lashes fluttering in a manner I would have thought she had grown out of by now.

“Marla, this is Miss Rose,” he answered, drawing her rapt attention from him to me.

“Yes,” she sighed. “Lovely to meet you.”

“And you,” I replied, not meaning it since it was impossible to miss the annoyance that flashed in her eyes as she looked me up and down. I deeply regretted not taking more care for this shopping trip because my shorts and t-shirt made me feel incredibly young and unattractive compared to how well put together she was.

“I’ve got the room set up with options selected just for Miss Rose based on our conversation, Mr. Cadwell,” she simpered.

“A complete overhaul, correct?” he clarified.

“Yes, I’ve included everything from shoes to sunglasses and I’ve got a couple girls who can help with sizes and pull other items if needed,” she said, clapping her hands to signal to the other shoppers that they should join us.

It was like I’d walked onto the set of a high-end fashion-modeling shoot with the way everyone was dressed. I highly doubted they usually put this much effort into what they wore to work and figured they had hoped to catch Morgan’s eye based on the sly looks that were sent my way. Although we had spent nearly every waking hour with each other over the past week, he hadn’t made any more advances towards me so I wasn’t sure of how to act anymore. I wanted to stake my claim and make it clear that he was mine, but it just wasn’t true.

Some of my indecision must have been clear on my face because the women seemed triumphant and ramped up the flirting as I tried on different outfits. Morgan didn’t pay any attention to them, though. I’d tried on a few options and would have been happy to stop there until I saw the dress that changed it all. The silky material was a swirling together of several shades of green. I knew it would make my eyes pop and once I put it on I fell in love with it and couldn’t wait to see the look on Morgan’s face when he saw me in it.

When I stepped out of the dressing room, Morgan was looking down at his phone while Marla leaned over his shoulder to speak into his ear. He nodded his head idly, and I cleared my throat to get his attention. “Holy fucking Christ,” he breathed.

“I’m not sure where I’d wear it to, but I really love this dress,” I murmured, walking towards him with my eyes locked on his.

“We’ll find somewhere,” he assured me. “Even if I have to throw a fucking party. You are getting that dress.”

“I should probably say no because it’s ridiculously expensive, but I don’t think I can resist this one,” I admitted.

He looked up at Marla and shooed her away before speaking again. “You’ll learn soon enough that there’s no point saying no to me anyway, Angel, because I’ll just have to find ways to change your mind if you do.”

He reached out a finger and trailed it along my naked leg as he spoke. With him sprawled in a chair and me in heels, he could probably look up the skirt of the dress if he wanted to do so. He lifted the hem slightly and his eyes heated as he stared at me.

“Why do I have a feeling I’d enjoy your method of persuasion?” I asked throatily.

“Because I’d make sure you did,” he promised, glancing down at his watch afterwards. “Unfortunately, this isn’t the time or place for a lesson in persuasion.”

“I haven’t tried anything on yet,” I objected. “I’ve only gotten through maybe a quarter of it so far.”

He clasped my hand in his and rubbed his thumb in circles around my palm. “Was there anything you’ve tried on that didn’t fit?”

“It all fit perfectly,” I answered, my breath hitching.

The circles continued, the tip of his finger dipping between mine with each upward swipe. “Anything you didn’t like? Something that wasn’t your style?”

“None of it’s really my style since any one of these outfits probably costs more than my entire wardrobe,” I confessed as I glanced down at the dress I was wearing, feeling guilty for loving it so much.

His hand tightened on mine until my eyes met his again. “But if money were no object, are these the types of things you’d buy for yourself?”

“Maybe,” I admitted. “But I’d probably go for more casual stuff—jeans, sandals, yoga pants. I’m not a very formal person.”

He nodded his head, as though agreeing with my assessment of myself. “It’s one of the things I like best about you.”

“What is?”

“How comfortable you seem just being yourself.”

Really, how could I argue with a guy who said things like that? Who liked me for me? You couldn’t, which was how I found myself being led to his car without any argument about how much money he’d spent on me.

“We’ve got one more stop,” Morgan said as he headed in the opposite direction of the house.

“I’m not sure how that’s possible, considering everything you’ve already bought for me today,” I replied.

“It’s not like I can’t afford it,” he retorted. “Besides, it’s all stuff you need because you’ve become a part of my life. Please keep that in mind during this stop.”

“You can’t buy me a car,” I protested as Morgan pulled into the Audi dealership.

“I can do whatever the hell I want to do,” he retorted, parking the Maserati in front of the building before turning to look at me.

“I already have a car.”

He laughed lightly and the raspy sound sent goosebumps up my arms. “I don’t think it’s fair to call that rust-bucket a car.”

“Hey! My mom loved that car,” I grumbled.

“Angel,” he sighed as he used his forefinger to lift my chin until I was looking into his eyes. “I’m not saying you have to get rid of your mom’s car if it means something to you. I have plenty of garage space to store it, but when you aren’t riding with me, you will be driving a car that I know is safe.”

“So bossy,” I muttered.

“Better get used to it,” he retorted as he lifted my hand to his mouth to place a kiss on my palm. “Now let’s go get you a car.”

“Do I at least get to pick which one?” I asked sarcastically, pretty sure I knew the answer.

“As long as it’s the newest A7 with all the bells and whistles and you want it in white or silver, then yes you can pick whichever one you want,” he replied with a hint of humor in his tone.

When we got out of his car and entered the dealership, a gorgeous blond dressed in a sexy business suit with a short skirt was waiting for us. Her eyes swept up Morgan’s body and appreciation flashed in them before they took in the sight of his arm wrapped around my back as he guided me towards her. After spending the day watching all the shop girls flirting their asses off, I was impressed with how quickly her expression cleared as she smiled at me and held out her hand.

“Welcome to Audi,” she greeted us. “I’m Reagan.”

Morgan and I shook her hand and he swiftly turned the conversation towards the car he was looking to buy me. She walked us over to a display model and rattled off all the features and mechanical mumbo-jumbo as I sat in the driver’s seat and tried to lift my jaw off the floor after seeing the sticker price in the window. It was damn close to six figures and the cost of this car would pay for my entire college education.

“You really can’t buy me this car,” I whispered to Morgan. “I’ll concede to the need for something safer, but there are literally a thousand other cars you could buy me which would be a major improvement on my car but wouldn’t cost a small fortune.”

I hadn’t lowered my voice enough and Reagan overhead me. Her gaze darted to the window, looking out at Morgan’s Maserati before returning to my face. An amused grin tilted her lips and her eyes lit with humor. “I’m pretty sure if you argue too hard, he might find another model which costs more.”

Morgan’s chuckle drew my attention away from her. He looked relaxed and happy, but I knew there was a core of steel hidden underneath the surface. Reagan was right. Resistance would probably result in him choosing something even more outlandish. So, I caved and let him buy me an Audi.