Chapter Five
Daisy
I tossed a few napkins and the packets of mustard into the brown bag and gave the customer a dazzling smile. “Number six with extra relish?”
The older woman returned my smile as she took her order. “You are just the prettiest thing. Has anyone ever told you of that?”
“Probably not nearly as much as you hear it,” I joked. The white-haired old woman chuckled and shook her head.
“Oh, in my younger years, I was quite the head-turner. Much like you.” She leaned across the counter as if she wanted to tell me a secret. “You don’t let anyone flatter you with pretty words. You hold out for the real thing, you hear me? I did, and I spent fifty wonderful years with my love.”
“That sounds lovely,” I said softly. “I hope one day that will happen to me. Enjoy your meal.”
Gripping her cane, the woman tottered away. The line that had formed behind her glared at me, and I worked quickly to make up for the extra minutes that I’d spent with her. By now, my managers had learned to stop chastising me for talking to people. I just couldn’t help myself. I adored meeting new people, and even though there were some real douche bags that came through here, there were also some real gems. If there’d been more time, I would have talked to the woman about her life with her husband. I bet she would have had some stories to tell me.
The dinner shift was busy, and by the time that I was finished, my feet ached. Closing out the register, I grabbed the cash and headed to the break room to count it. My impending eviction was affecting me more than I would have liked. Normally, closing out my till was an easy task, but tonight I ended up counting it a few times before getting it right.
“Daisy, your boyfriend called.” Stacey, one of my co-workers, plopped down in the chair next to me and pulled out her pack of cigarettes. Sliding one out, she twirled it around between her fingers and stared at the door. “You really need to get yourself a cell phone.”
“Too expensive,” I said, writing my figures down on the worksheet.
“Yeah,” she muttered distractedly. Tugging at her hair, she put the unlit cigarette between her lips and sighed.
“Stacy?” I prompted. She was a little spacey sometimes, and it took work to keep her focused. “You were saying?”
Pulling the cigarette from her lips, she blinked and shook her head. “Yeah. Right. Sorry. So Trent keeps inviting me over for movie night. He’s got some grade A chronic, but I know what he wants in return, and I’m just not feeling him. He’s probably a walking STD, and I don’t want to get a reputation around here. I’ve only been working here for a few months, but really need a hit of the good stuff, and money is tight these days. What do you think?”
Raising an eyebrow, I laughed. “I think maybe you should follow your instincts and stay away from Trent. What did Ralph want?”
“Ralph? Oh, right. Sorry. He said for you to stop by his place when you get off. Ya’ll had something to discuss.” Propping her elbows on the table, she cocked her head and stared at me. “Why are you with him? I’ve had some pretty bad boyfriends in my life, but Ralph? He’s kind of a limp noodle, isn’t he? A girl like you could do so much better, and I don’t like the way he talks to you when he comes by here. He could use a little slapping around, ya know.”
I stirred in my seat uncomfortably. “He’s got a good job and a good future ahead of him. Plus he’s not terrible to me. He’s just stressed with work.”
It was hard for me to explain my relationship with Ralph to Stacey. She was my age, but she had a decent life. Her suburban roots were completely wasted on her. Even though she’d run away when she was seventeen, her parents still stopped by to check on her and make sure that she was okay. She had a support system.
I had Ralph. Things weren’t always great, but my spirits were lifted at the news that he wanted to talk to me. It sounded like Ralph might be my knight in shining armor after all. “Stay away from Trent, Stacey. He’s bad news,” I warned, before standing up to take the money to the office.
After clocking out, I walked to Ralph’s apartment. It really was too late to have been walking alone at night, but every penny had to be saved, and I didn’t want to take the subway. At least the night air had cooled considerably and felt good on my skin.
Humming to myself, I pulled my hair out of my ponytail and ran my fingers through it. When I moved in with Ralph, things would be different between us. We’d be closer. More intimate.
I smiled. That might not be such a bad thing.
Crossing the last street, I stepped deftly away from the outreached arm of a junkie begging for money, and skipped up the stairs to Ralph’s apartment. Almost shyly, I knocked on his door and bit my lower lip.
I knew that he’d come through for me. I just knew it.
The door opened, and he had a huge grin on his face. “You got my message. Good. I’m glad to see you, baby.”
“Me too.” I leaned up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss, but he turned his head and walked away. A little bewildered, I followed after him. “Ralph, I know what you’re going to say, and but I think this can work. You have your reservations, but it’s going to be okay.”
Turning, he gave me a strange look. “You know?”
“I do.” Reaching out for him, I gently tucked my fingers in the opening of his shirt and drew him near me. “I know that you’re concerned about us and about finances, but I promise this work out so that we’re both happy. Very happy.”
Tilting my chin, I kissed him. As usual, I waited for that moment when I’d feel light-headed and tingly, but it never happened. Kissing Ralph just never got my blood pumping, but not all good relationships were built on a consuming passion, right?
I couldn’t complain about him. He’d respected my need to take things slow. He didn’t hit me or yell at me, and he certainly didn’t try to do the things that I heard my father doing with women. It was the best relationship that I could hope for, and I really didn’t want to lose it.
“I knew you’d take it well.” He smiled at me and let his hands brush down my body. When they moved down my breasts, my stomach clenched, but I didn’t jerk away from him. “You’re such a good girl, aren’t you, Daisy. You’re going to do everything that he asks and get that money for us, right?”
“What?” I pulled back and frowned. “Do everything for who?”
“My boss. Brick Langston. I’m telling you, baby, this contract is my ticket to the big leagues. With that money, I’m going to move to the city, and now that he knows my name, he’s going to be watching me. I’m on the fast-track to the top.”
My mind whirled. “Contract? I don’t understand. You got me a job at your office? Doing what?”
“Fucking Brick, of course, although I doubt you could call it office work. You’ll be living with him for a month, and you’re not exactly the kind of woman that he’d show off to his employees.” He laughed. “You didn’t think that you’d be doing office work, did you?”
“Doing wh-what?” I stammered softly. “You made a contract saying that I would sleep with your boss? I don’t understand. I thought you were going to tell me that I could move in.”
Grimacing, he pulled away. “God, no. I already told you that wasn’t happening. But this is perfect. You needed a place to stay, and he wants you. So you’ll live with him for a month and do whatever to make him happy. He’s paying for you, Daisy. And the contract is already signed.”
“You sold me? Ralph, you don’t own me! I’m not your hooker. I’m not anyone’s hooker! You can’t just do that, and I won’t…” I shook my head, trying to understand what the hell was happening. “I won’t do that.”
“The fuck you won’t,” he snarled and advanced towards me. “I’m sick of supporting you, Daisy, and getting nothing in return. I know you’re slutting around with your co-workers. I’ve heard them talk, so if you can give it up to a bunch of minimum-waged stoners, you can give it up to a multi-billionaire.”
“What?” Stunned, I reached out and grabbed the kitchen counter. He was supporting me? As far as I could remember, Ralph had never bought me anything. I always paid for dinner when we went out, and most of the time, I had to buy groceries for him when he complained that his student loans were making him impoverished. And I certainly wasn’t slutting it around with my co-workers. “Ralph, I don’t know what’s going on here, but you need to calm down. I’m not resorting to prostitution.”
His ugly face softened, and he reached out and pulled me into his embrace. I stiffened, but when his arms wrapped around me, I took a few deep breaths and melted into his hold. This was good. We’d talk about it. Ralph was just desperate, that’s all.
“Don’t think of it as prostitution, baby. Think of it as the answer to all your problems. We’re not talking pennies, here. He’s paying good money, and I’m willing to give you, say, ten thousand dollars.”
Ten thousand dollars! I squeezed my eyes shut. The things that I could do with that kind of money. That would pay my rent for a year, but still… “I’d have to live with him?” I whispered. “Live with a stranger for a whole month? Ralph, I don’t think I can do that.”
“What? Like you’ve never shacked up with someone before?”
“No, I haven’t.” Pulling my head back and swallowing hard, I stared at him. “Ralph, I’ve never been with anyone before.”
He stared at me blankly. “What does that mean? You’ve never spent the night with someone? You were just begging me to let you live here.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I’ve never spent the night with someone. Or shared a bed. Or anything.” Taking a deep breath, I admitted the truth. “Ralph, I don’t slut around with my co-workers. I’m a virgin, and I don’t really want to lose my virginity to a stranger.”
“You’re a virgin?” he scoffed. “Daisy, you don’t really expect me to believe that, do you?”
“Why do you think that we’ve never…done that?” My virginity wasn’t really a moral choice. It wasn’t premeditated. I wasn’t waiting for marriage or anything like that. I had some intimacy issues. After hearing my father with my mother, the abuse and the crying, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I knew that it was supposed to be good, but most of the time, sex felt like it was more about power than anything else.
“Honestly?” Releasing me, he stepped back and headed to the refrigerator for a beer. “I just assumed that you didn’t want me to think that you were a slut. So really? You’re a virgin, huh?”
Nervously, I nodded. I wasn’t sure how he would take it, but he actually appeared pleased by the prospect. “So you can understand why I don’t want to do this.”
“Look, you don’t have to be scared, Daisy. Sex is nothing. It’s not a big deal. And think of what will happen afterwards. Think of my future, Daisy. You care about that, don’t you?” He tucked his finger under my chin and lifted it. “You care about me, right?”
“Of course. I want good things for you, Ralph.”
“Then do this for me. Do it for us, baby. It’s just a month. It’ll fly by,” he cajoled.
Shaking my head, I tapped my fingers nervously on the counter. “And after the month? Will you still want to be with me? Will we be together?”
“Of course we’ll be together, baby. We’ll be able to afford a great place in Manhattan. If I get promoted, I’ll be able to get you a real job in the company. No more coming home smelling like burgers and hot dogs. No more living next to drug dealers and whores. That’s your dream, right?”
It sounded like a dream, that was for sure. “I don’t want my first time to be with a stranger, Ralph. Will you, um, be with me tonight?”
He’d been asking, and I saw the desire in his eyes when he looked at me. My stomach twisted at the thought of our first time being like this, with this contract hanging over my head, but it was better than giving it away to some rich slimeball that I’d never even met, right?
“Oh, baby. You have no idea how lucky we are that you’re a virgin. If I had known, there would have been more negotiations, but now? Well, now I’m pretty sure that Brick is going to get me anything that I want. This is going to score me some major brownie points.”
“Brownie points?” I pressed a hand to my stomach. “Ralph, you can’t be serious.”
“No, no, no. Shhh, I’m sorry, baby. That’s not what I meant at all. I just meant that Brick is going to have more respect for you, and you want that, right? You want him to treat you with respect. I’m only thinking of you, baby.” He reached for me again, but I stepped away from him.
“I just need some air,” I stammered, turning around.
“You’re going to do it, right, baby? For us?”
What were my options at this point? A homeless shelter? A woman’s shelter? Just a few days on the streets would be dangerous for me. But a future with Ralph? And ten grand? That was worth a month with a stranger, wasn’t it?
“For us,” I whispered and wrapped my hands around my body, before fleeing his apartment without a backwards glance.