Page 18 of Pandora's Pain
I slipped the box back onto the shelf just as it was and returned to hide the key again. A little more rummaging revealed a wallet filled with cards. They weren’t any use to me without the pin numbers—something I only knew thanks to the gods’ information injection. Luckily, Alex carried cash, too. I grabbed it from the wallet and threw on the less revealing dress I’d arrived in.
Time to take myself shopping. I had a date to prep for.
Chapter Nine
I was beginning to regret this already. There were people everywhere. I wasn’t too sure what to make of it. I liked the way clothing had changed. It gave more options for expressing oneself, but there were other bits I wasn’t too keen on. While great one on one, the stench of so many colognes and perfumes was sort of overwhelming.
The need to find an amazing outfit for tonight was stronger than the pungent smells though, and I persevered. The racks were teeming with color and choice. I wasn’t sure where to even start. There were slinky dresses like the one I wore last night, but that wasn’t going to cut it. The dress had been pretty and sexy, but it hadn’t gotten me what I wanted.
A new plan it had to be. I searched high and low before settling on some skin tight black skinny jeans and a sheer shirt that’d cover me but leave next to nothing to the imagination. Hopefully, just the right side of classy. Luckily for me, I had the body to pull it off. Some good came of captivity. I hadn’t aged a day and still looked a youthful twenty-one or so. Despite the centuries of torture and pain.
I spent a bit longer picking out other outfits. I didn’t know how long my mission was going to take, and didn’t want to run out of potential things to wear. Though, turning up places in my bathrobe had seemed to work best so far. I should just stop trying and wear that all the time.
“Are you okay, there?”
I look up from the rack of dresses to find a beyond stunning woman in front of me.
I’d never been shy about my looks. I was pretty with a good body. I had to be to have spent so much time with the gods. They were the rather aesthetic kind. But this woman made me insecure with just one look.
Her dark hair cascaded in waves down her back, looking like she’d stepped out of one of the hair commercials I’d seen on the TV yesterday. And her clothing…it made me feel dowdy. More than that, there was a little warning bell going off inside me saying this woman was trouble. Big trouble. I couldn’t put my finger on why.
“Yes, thank you.” The smile I gave her was full of insincerity, which she definitely knew. It was a language women had used since the very beginning.
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t pair those together.” She nodded towards the leather pants I had in one hand and a silk shirt I had in the other.
“I wasn’t intending to, but thanks for the tip.”
“You look kind of familiar,” she mused.
Freezing cold dread rushed through me. I thought everyone had forgotten what I looked like. How could she possibly know who I was? What did this mean for my mission? If people knew who I was, I’d never manage to entrap them.
“Sorry, I don’t know you,” I tried.
The woman clicked her fingers. I barely refrained from glaring at her. She had to know how rude she was being when she did that.
“You’re the woman on today’s front page. The one spotted with Ashton St. James.” She tapped her foot, giving me a look of expectation.
“What of it?” I asked, the burden of having been recognized for my real self lifting.
“How did you get a date with Ashton St. James?” As soon as the words left her, the malice was clear.
“He asked, I said yes.”
“Were you paid?”
“Of course not.” What was this woman on?
“Then I just don’t get it.”
“What’s it to you, anyway?” I asked, hooking my clothes over my arm. No matter what she said, I was going to buy them. Maybe I’d even wear them sometime I’d get photographed with Ashton, just to piss her off.
“I want to know how a nobody like you got a date, while I still can’t.”
Ah. Jealousy. Suddenly it all made sense. The biggest motivator.
“I’m sorry about that, but there’s nothing I can do about Ashton’s choice.” I gave her a sweet as sugar smile. She knew I didn’t really mean it. I didn’t even care.
“End it with him. Then he can move on to people who are actually his level.”
