Page 10 of His Prize

I nodded. “I will. Thank you.”

As she closed the door, I rummaged around in my purse. And sure enough, there was her card. Well, it was less of a formal card and more of a note folded up. But, it had her name, her email address, and two separate numbers of contact. I smiled to myself before I slid it back into my purse.

The drive home seemed longer than usual, and I couldn't wait to get back to Israel. I had some questions I wanted to ask him, like what the hell he’d do in this situation. I mean, he was raised to do this. Groomed for it, from the time he was a child.

Then, it hit me.

“Gary?” I asked.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“What day is it?”

“It’s the fourteenth, ma’am.”

“No, no. I mean, it’s Friday. Right?”

“Yes, it is.”

Fuck.“Can you pull over onto the side of the road, please?”

“Of course.”

He inched over onto the shoulder of the highway, about ten minutes from home. I leaned heavily against the seat and closed my eyes, trying to get my bearings on things. This was the day Israel was supposed to have lunch date with his ex. And if I went home to find it empty, I knew I’d spin out of control. I drew in a deep breath, trying to sober myself up. I tried to separate myself from my emotions because I knew I’d have to learn how to do that sooner rather than later.

“Ma’am?” Gary asked.

“All right, I’m ready. Thank you for that.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

I don’t know when the hell everyone went from calling me “miss” to calling me “ma’am,” but I enjoyed the jump. I gazed out the window as we drove the rest of the way home, and I quickly made my way inside. The bodyguards nodded at me. Some of them even smiled. And while it caught me off-guard, I didn’t let it stop me.

But, I did stop in my tracks when I found a note from Israel in the kitchen.

Bonnie,

Having drinks with Alice tonight. It should be quick. Much quicker than lunch, anyway. I’ll be at the bar on the corner if you need me.

Israel

I set down the note and chewed on the inside of my cheek. If that asshole thought I’d sit around and wait for him to come home from a damn date with his ex, he had another thing coming. I dropped my purse and stormed back down the hallway, throwing open the door of my bedroom. And as I made my way to my closet, a plan formed in my mind.

“Bingo,” I murmured.

I rifled through my clothes and pulled out the sexiest dress I owned. A tight, little black thing that stopped about midway down my thigh and fell off my shoulders. I rummaged around until I found the set of pearls my aunt had given me for my sixteenth birthday. A double string of pearls that sat perfectly in my cleavage as well as dangling pearl earrings that accentuated the length of my neck. I piled my hair high, allowing the curls to bounce in whatever direction they wanted to go. And after slipping into my knee-high stiletto boots, I smiled at myself in the mirror.

“Eat your heart out, Alice.”

After retrieving my purse from the kitchen, I made my way back downstairs. I was painfully aware of how the bodyguards were staring at me, and rightfully so. I didn’t usually toot my own horn, but I looked delectable tonight. I flagged down Gary and slipped into the back seat before directing him to the bar I knew Israel was at with that woman.

Then, I meandered up to the bar and ordered myself a drink.

“What’ll it be, ma’am?” the bartender asked.

I stole a glance at Israel and Alice over there in a darkened booth before I hopped up onto the barstool.

“I’ll have your honey-lavender martini as well as a small meat and cheese tray to munch on. Thank you.”

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