Page 33 of Safer Together
Then I had to keep in mind, he had a lot more money than I did, that was for sure. I exit my banking app without transferring any money. I will purchase something for Elliot in my normal price range. I throw my phone into my bag, sling it over my shoulder, scoop up my keys from the counter, I leave the house, after checking twice that I have locked the front door, then walk straight over to the car.
I notice that Price is absent, and that Elliot is leaning against the front passenger door, his dark black-lensed aviator sunglasses on, looking like he is on the set of a photo shoot for BMW cars. My heart nearly leaps out of my chest.
“You’re driving your own car today?”
He grins. “Lenny and Andrew took off early this morning for their Christmas break, so yes, I will be driving.” At that he opens the door and bends low, performing a silly bow that instantly makes me laugh. Once I am in the car, he closes the door with a thud, rushes around the front of the car, and places himself in the driver’s seat.
“Now before we go, I need to ask you a favor.” I turn to look at him. A favor? What could he mean?
“A favor?” I repeat, he nods.
“Would you mind picking out a handbag for my mother for me? I have a terrible eye for these sorts of things, and I figure you’re a female, so you might have better luck then I.”
I smirk slightly. “I’m a female, am I? Gosh, you’re perceptive, aren’t you?” I raise my eyebrow at him, before continuing, “Yes, I can help you select a bag for your mother.”
As soon as he hears me say yes, he fishes out his wallet. “Great, here is some money which should cover it. Anything left over, you can purchase yourself something with. Consider it commission.” He hands over a wad of one hundred dollar bills that had to be at least thirty thick. I look at the wad with shock and quickly count the money in my hand.
“You do know this is nearly four thousand dollars, don’t you?” I look up at him awaiting his response to grab some money back off me.
Instead, he asks, “Is that not enough? I have more” he reaches back into his wallet and I see even more money.
I reach out and grab his wrist with my hand. “Elliot, first of all, are you crazy carrying around this amount of money? Imagine if you get jumped, and they take off with your wallet. Second, the handbags I purchase are normally one hundred dollars at the most, I’m out of my depth here with this kind of money. We would have to go to a boutique to purchase a bag for this price.”
He drops his wallet into the center console and takes my hand in his. “I’m not just going to send you off on your own, baby. One of Mom’s favorite brands is Prada. I’ll take you to their shop on Fifth Avenue.” He turns his attention to the ignition and starts it with a push of a button. “As for getting jumped, if they can overpower me, then they can have my wallet. It’s not like I would miss that kind of money, anyway.”
I consider his statement for a moment, at how blasé he is in regard to his money. “Well, if you’re going to be with me why would I need this money?” I lift the bunch of bills and fan them in front of myself. “Can’t you just pay with your bank card?” I ask.
His expression changes for just longer than a split second, and he doesn’t answer right away. Once we have made it halfway down the driveway, he finally speaks. “Well, we have to buy a number of gifts today and we will split up at times so it’s possible you may need to buy some of mine too. I thought cash would be better than giving you a bank card to use.”
I can feel my face going bright red, I fish my sunglasses out of my handbag and look out the window away from Mr. Moneybags. It’s not like I didn’t know he had money. Of course, I did; he purchased a house off me with cash. The house he lives in is near enough to a castle in the most expensive neighborhood in the country, and he is a self-made billionaire. He pays for every date, and my air fares. In fact, I couldn’t remember ever having to pull out my wallet whenever I have been with him, aside from that failed attempt to pay for our coffees that time in Nashville.
I know most girls would love to be splashed with cash like this but I’m not a gold digger. I want to make sure he knows that. I turn back towards him with the cash in hand, I pick up his wallet and replace the hundred-dollar bills between the folds with the other bills. Once I have placed his wallet back in the center console, I speak my piece. “Elliot, you know I’m not dating you because you have money, don’t you?” I prepare myself to wait a little while for my answer, but it is instantaneous.
“Absolutely. I know that, Angela.”
“Good. I have my own money, plenty of my own money in fact. It’s there if I want to use it. I keep it tucked away for the future; I like living the way I do. I don’t need you to throw me money to make me happy. Just being with you does that, tenfold.”
I am still looking at the side of his face trying to ascertain his thoughts. We are driving along the street his house is on, approaching the turn-off to the main road that led us out of the estate. Before we make it to the intersection, he pulls the car over to the side and puts the car in park, and then turns to face me. The best he can in such a small space, he removes his glasses so I can see his beautiful blue eyes.
“It doesn’t matter to me if you have money or if you don’t, Angela. I have more money then I know what to do with. I’m a billionaire, for fuck’s sake. What I care about is you and the fun we have together and the happiness I feel when we spend time together. I want you to have nice things and I want to buy them for you. It’s my prerogative as your boyfriend to spoil you if I want to. I guess what I’m trying to say is that money means nothing to me. But you do, baby.”
My heart begins skipping a beat, it wasn’t the I love you I heard him say last night, but it was along those same lines. I reach out and take his hand, I run my thumb along his palm and speak again. “That’s good to know that we’re on the same page” he smiles at that turns back to face forward, putting the car back into drive, and we are once again on our way Christmas shopping.
