Chase walked back and forth in his penthouse. He didn’t want to think about what would happen the next time he saw Penny, but he could imagine that it wasn’t going to go over well. It was clear she had been more than offended by the comment made at the nightclub, and he knew he was going to have to explain it to her.

The issue was, how would he explain it in a way to make her stay with him? He didn’t want to fight her, and he didn’t want her to think that she was nothing more than a bet or a trophy. Right now, he got the impression she felt like both.

He had left the club earlier that evening, telling her that he was going to take the bastards he referred to as friends home before heading home himself. Of course, he told her that he wanted her to come over to his penthouse as soon as she was free, and she flatly agreed that she would. He didn’t want to think that they were on the brink of an argument, but he knew that it wasn’t going to be easy to explain to her what was going on.

The two of them came from two different worlds. There was no denying that, and he didn’t want to push that on her. But it was the truth. He came from a place where men would make those bets. He wasn’t proud of it, but that was what he was used to. He wished he could take it all back and not make the stupid bet. He needed her to know that everything that happened between them was real, and the bet was something he made before he knew her or even saw her.

Chase took the time to really think about what he wanted to tell her, so by the time she knocked on his door, he felt he was ready. He took a deep breath, walking to the door and hesitating for a moment before opening it. Then, he put on a smile as he pulled it open and saw her beautiful…angry face.

“I’m here,” she said flatly, her arms crossed.

“I can see that,” he replied with an unwavering grin. He had to maintain the positive vibe or everything would go to shit. “I’m glad you came.”

“You’re glad? Why, did you have another bet you were trying to win tonight?” she snapped as she stepped into his penthouse.

Chase gave her a look, telling her with his eyes he wasn’t going to play that kind of game. She could talk about it with him like an adult, or they weren’t going to talk about it at all.

“You know it’s not like that,” he said calmly.

“What is this, then? What do you want to call it? Am I your girlfriend or am I just some conquest that you wanted to take home for the night?” she shot back. He gave her another look and shook his head.

“Unbelievable. Are you going to tell me that you think I did this for a dumb bet when it’s been two weeks? Two whole weeks of being together?” he asked. She crossed her arms again and gave him a look.

“I don’t know, you tell me. It sounds to me like you put an awful lot of money down on it,” she spat. He laughed, which was clearly the wrong thing to do, as she gave him a withering stare. He sighed, rubbing his face with his hand.

“Look, I clearly don’t need the money. You should know that from how well I’ve been tipping you all this time,” he said dryly. Her eyes opened wide and her mouth dropped open.

“Don’t you dare tell me that you were doing that for any reason than because of my service! I didn’t need your damn pity money, and I certainly don’t want it! Don’t you know that I can get my own tips without your meager offerings?” She laughed derisively, and he shook his head, clearly angry now.

“Are you really going to tell me that those tips were meager? I hope you’re just saying that because you’re just pissed at me. Any waitress would be thrilled to be able to have that much just handed to her when she didn’t do anything but pour a few drinks!” He spat the words, knowing he was digging his own grave, but his anger was getting the best of him. He had pride, dammit, and he wouldn’t let a woman—even a woman he cared for—laugh at his dignity and hard work.

“Well, if all you wanted was to have a few drinks poured, then why didn’t you do it yourself?” she asked. “Why request my service out of everyone else’s each time you came to the club?”

Chase sighed, anger deflating from his chest. “I come from a different world than you do, Penny, you know that. I am going to do things differently, and I’m going to look at things differently. I’m sorry that you got caught up in a bad joke, but it had nothing to do with you, and I don’t want you to feel like what I am doing has anything to do with that.” Chase put his hands in the air, trying to calm her down. He knew that this wasn’t going well, and he could see in her eyes things were getting worse for him by the second.

She stared at him, eyes cold as ice. “I know what you said, but you have underestimated me. If you didn’t notice, I am the girl who told a prince to fuck off when he got too close to me. What makes you think that I’m not going to do the same thing to you?” she asked.

“I’m treating you with respect, for one. I’m not making you do anything that you don’t want to do, and I never would. I am here to help you, Penny, not hurt you,” Chase tried again. He didn’t know how else to say what he was trying to express, but he could see in her eyes that she still wasn’t happy with how the night had gone.

“Look, I would love to do something that will make this up to you. I know that that was a shitty thing for you to have to hear, but I don’t want you to give it another thought, okay? I’ll take you out to do anything you want, anything at all. We can forget all about those bastards I was with and just focus on us.” Chase smiled once more. He hoped that by distracting her from the events of the night she would be happy to go out with him.

But he also knew Penny was stubborn, and there was little doubt in his mind she was going to turn him down. But he didn’t expect her to tell him what she said next.

“You know, Chase, you’re right. You come from an entirely different world than I do, and I can’t compare with it. I’m just some waitress working at a nightclub, in need of the tips that are thrown my way by men like you. I don’t know what I would do without you, and I’m grateful for the times that you tipped me that well. I really do appreciate it, I do.” She spoke with a hurt sarcasm in her voice, and Chase shook his head once again.

For as much as she could see through his salesman tone, he could see through her tone when she tried to manipulate him. And he wasn’t going to put up with it any more than she would put up with his tone.

“Look, Penny, I want to put this whole thing behind us. It was stupid, but it’s over now, and neither of us are going to have to worry about it any longer, okay? You’re not going to forget the past two weeks together, are you? Can’t we just forget about what happened and move on with our lives?” He threw his hands down to his side, but Penny merely shook her head.

“You don’t get it. I am moving on with my life, but I’m not doing it with you. I’m not going to be in a relationship with someone who just wanted to win a bet for a night. Someone who just uses women for their fun and games. You can think of me as your trophy during the time we had together, and you can collect your money, but I’m not going to be with you anymore.” She didn’t give him a chance to respond, turning on her heel and heading out the door before he could argue further.

“Penny! Penny!” Chase called after her. But when he got to the door of his penthouse, he could see she was running the hall to the elevator, wiping her eyes. He shook his head, stepping inside and slamming the door behind him. He wasn’t going to go chasing after her. If that was what she wanted, then that was her decision to make. A small part of him knew he was in denial, but her words made him so frustrated and angry.

He reasoned that he’d done what he could to fix it, and he didn’t have the time to deal with the drama from women like that. Sure, it was going to be hard for him to let go of her, but he wasn’t going to chase after her, and he certainly wasn’t going to beg. Chase Ellis never begged. Who was she to make him feel that way?

If she wanted to walk out on him, that was her choice.

She was free to make it.