Page 41 of A Sixpence For Your Shoe

Sighing, I give up and hang up the phone. That conversation was over anyway. I wasn’t getting anywhere.

Pressing my fingers into my eyes to massage away the headache building, I toss my phone onto the pillow of the sofa next to me and lean back with my knees pulled up against my chest.

“What’s wrong?” Vincent asks, wandering into the living room.

“Nothing.” I shrug.

“Misha, I asked you a question. Don’tnothingme.” He says, his voice dropping, deep and authoritative. I bite my lip and debate whether I want to involve him in the surprise I’m trying to arrange for my mom.

After a moment he warns me again with his head tilted and his eyes narrowed. “Misha.”

“I was trying to get my mom into a better apartment in a safer part of the city. The place she’s in now, the place I lived in with her, it’s horrible. Tiny. Damp. Moldy. Not safe. Noisy.” I sigh.

“Ok, and what is the problem?”

“No one will rent to me. My - um -track record.” I smirk, knowing that he met me the day I threw boiling oil onto my boss, so he knows all about mytrack recordwith things.

“I’ll sort it out by the end of today.” He says, waving his hand in the air and dismissing my concerns.

“What? What do you mean?”

“I own half the city, little raven. I’ll have an apartment ready for your mother by the end of today.”

“No - I can’t ask you to do that, Vincent.” I say nervously.

“You didn’t ask. And I didn’t give you a choice.”

“I can’t afford the types of properties you own. I just wanted her out of theworstarea. I can’t afford thebestarea.”

He chuckles. “Little pet, I will have a contract drawn up. A five-year rental at no charge. Your mother will have a guaranteed place to stay for the next five years at no charge.”

I blink at him in disbelief. “She will never accept that.”

“Don’t tell her. It will be a contract between you and me. Tell her you’re paying for it with what you’re earning at your new job.” He shrugs.

“Are you serious? Why would you do that for me?” I ask in shock. Five years is a commitment.

He steps close to me and wraps his hand around the back of my neck, pulling me to my feet and up against his chest. “Because I take care of what belongs to me. Andyoubelong to me little pet.”

On my tiptoes I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him low, towards my lips, pressing them against his, I kiss him and the warmth of his body rushes over me.

“Thank you.” I whisper against his mouth.

“Anything for you.” He whispers back, and for some reason I believe him.

I’m terrified to think that what is going on between us is anything more than a game, but it feels like so much more. I pull away as my heart beats too fast. I am lying to myself. I am just a game to him. But that’s ok. My mom will have somewhere safe to stay, and I will keep saving my money - so that when this game is over our lives will be better because of it.

“Are you ok?” he asks, noticing my tension.

“I’m just so grateful. No one has ever done something like this for my mom and me. And I want to call my mom and tell her the surprise.” I smile tightly, worried about my heart, trying to tell it not to get attached.

He smiles back at me, his eyes piercing into me. “Good, you do that. I’ll go sort everything out and make the arrangements.You can tell your mom that a moving truck will come and assist her this afternoon.”

I giggle. “She doesn’t need a moving truck. We don’t even have any furniture. Just a normal car to carry four or five bags of her things.”

“I’ll make sure it’s a furnished apartment then.” He says, walking off.

When Vincent is out of the living room, in his home office, I pick up my phone to call my mom.

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