Chapter 14

Grace

This is unreal. I can’t stop thinking how crazy today’s been as I stare into the full-length mirror. I feel like a princess.

A princess in a red dress.

After we arrived in New York, Leo gave me a quick tour of his palatial apartment. I settled on taking the bedroom with the best view of Central Park.

And then he ran off for his meeting.

It was hard having him leave me. Especially after the way he showed up at work this morning and whisked me off on his private jet was as if I was in a fairy tale.

The plane ride itself was amazing, just being with him. Chatting casually together felt so natural. Nothing was forced or awkward, unlike it could be with my previous boyfriends.

I spent the last hour shopping. Followed by a manicure, pedicure and getting my hair and make-up done. Leo had arranged everything. He apologized for the lack of full-body massage, but there wasn’t time.

We have to leave for his event in a few minutes. I’m just having one last look in the mirror before I emerge from my bedroom.

I can’t believe how amazing I look.

The red evening gown has a plunging neckline that goes to my stomach. It’s backless, and I’m not wearing a bra. Something I’ve never done before, given the size of my breasts. But the expensive dress has enough built-in support. Ever since puberty, I’ve been painfully self-conscious of their size and have always felt awkward. If I wear regular tops, I end up looking like a bimbo. But if I wear loose tops, I end up looking fat.

I’ve never been able to win.

Until now. The plunging neckline shows off my cleavage but somehow it looks classy. Like I’m about to pose on the red carpet at the Oscars.

There’s also a high slit that goes all the way to the top of my thigh. Turning around, I look over my shoulder into the mirror and the requisite Oscar back shot.

Damn, these Louboutin heels really make my ass taut, and the fabric drapes over it in the most flattering way. For the first time my big behind seems perfectly proportioned to the rest of me, and I’m actually glad for the meat on my bones.

Anna would be proud.

I turn back to face the mirror, and snap a photo on my phone. I quickly text it to Anna.

The phone immediately rings.

“Damn girl, I’d fuck you right now if you were here,” Anna squeals before I have the chance to say hello.

“I can’t believe how I look,” I say, the amazement evident in my voice.

“I always knew you’d scrub up well.”

I roll my eyes, and say, “Whatevs.”

“Shawna will be happy when I show her the picture. She’s been on cloud nine all day because of you.”

“God, really?”

“Yeah, she even had a big meeting during which she told us that the company was almost out of money. And that she’d planned to ask everyone to take a pay cut, or even to work for free in exchange for stocks. But that now that hopefully won’t be necessary because of you spending the weekend with Leo.”

“She wants us to work for free?”

“She said there’s no choice because we need the rest of the money for marketing. But that we don’t get shares, and when Mini Motivations is a massive success, we’ll all have way more money than we were getting for salaries. But that’s irrelevant, because Leo is going to take one look at you in that dress and give us whatever we need.”

I chew on her words, feeling deflated compared to how I felt before the phone call.

“What do you think Leo and Shawna talked about in the meeting room this morning?” I ask.

“I don’t know. They were only in there for five or ten minutes.”

“Do you think they talked about me?”

“Obviously. You saw Shawna gave you those crazy thumbs-up when Leo was asking you to go for lunch. Ever since you left, she’s been walking around with a spring in her step.”

I glance up at the mirror again. Somehow a red dress seems far more appropriate than it did when I selected it. Seeing as I’m clearly being used as a prostitute.

“I feel like a whore.”

“Who cares? You are there for you. Leo is so hot that you’d be crazy not to have a little fun and lose your virginity to him. God, I can’t believe you’re still a virgin at twenty-three. You need to fix that and discover what you’re missing out on.”

“But I feel like a whore.”

“Who cares? Lighten up and have a little fun. Look at you, you look amazing. Better than any movie star. You’ve been flown off on a private jet by the sexiest man to walk the Earth. One who just happens to be a billionaire. And you’re worried about what exactly?”

I think back to my apartment, to the way my body reacted when Leo kissed me. My insides melted, and stayed that way for the entire plane ride. Just being near him made me ache for his touch. I want more of it. Of him.

When he touched me in the closet, I had the most intense orgasm of my life. I can’t imagine how good it will make me feel with more time.

“Okay, you’re right. I’m here for me. Anything else, any other arrangements they might have about me, are purely incidental.”

“That’s the right attitude. Now go and let him fuck your brains out.”

We end the call. I take a final look in the mirror, recapturing most of the earlier awe I had for myself.

Grabbing the new clutch purse from the dresser, I open the bedroom door and step into the hallway.

I make my way through the vast apartment. It’s not at all what I’d expected. The interior decor is modern and minimalist. Almost like it’s out of the pages of a Scandinavian design glossy magazine.

In my killer heels, I grip the banister as I descend the sweeping pale wood staircase. The last thing I need to do is wipe out and tumble down the stairs. I already embarrassed myself enough when I humped his leg during my dream.

My heels click on the bare wood floor as I make my way through the apartment in search of Leo.

Instead of a grand central hallway, the rooms spill into one another. All have a minimalist feel. I take my time, trying to get a better sense of who Leo is from the contents of his apartment.

Although the furniture and artwork he has are clearly extremely expensive, there isn’t much else in the way of luxury. No needless statues or decorations.

Only what he needs, it appears.

I’m standing in the middle of a room that has one wall lined with a pale wood bookcase. It’s full of books, though not crammed with them. I take a step closer, to be able to see the titles, when I hear Leo’s voice.

“Have you heard from Laura—”

He appears in the doorway, wearing his tuxedo. Holding his phone, his hand drops to his side. Leo stands motionless, staring at me. My chest fills with tingles as we face each other.

I swear he gets sexier every time I see him. And a tuxedo always does wonders to a man’s sexiness.

There is a muffled voice from Leo’s phone. He taps the screen with his thumb, and shoves it in his pocket without taking his eyes off me. He shifts his gaze to my face, his eyes locking on mine.

“You’re breathtaking,” he says.

“Thank you. For everything, the dress, the pampering.”

“It’s my pleasure, I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“It was a fun afternoon,” I say. In an attempt to mask my physical reaction to him, I bite my bottom lip and smile.

“I have one more thing for you,” he says, moving across the room.

The closer he gets to me, the more tingles fill my body. They spread out from my chest to my arms and legs and I worry my knees might buckle.

Leo stops in front of me, our bodies inches apart. I swallow as all the moisture in my body rushes to my center again.

He casually pulls something sparkly from his inside breast pocket. He holds it up between us and lets it dangle from his fingertips. It’s a drop necklace that sparkles in a way only real diamonds sparkle. A vertical row of six or seven large jewels are stacked on top of one another.

“I can’t accept this,” I say.

“I insist,” Leo says, laying it around my neck and doing up the clasp.

I crane my head down to look at it. The bottom diamond sits between the valley of my cleavage. I’ll just borrow it for the night, I tell myself, knowing he just made my already amazing movie star appearance even better.

“We need to go. Unfortunately,” he says, and brushes my cheek with his lips.