Page 67 of Rich Girl
“Where are you exactly?” Jeanine wants to know. “In the city?”
I take a deep breath in and prepare to explain.
“I was in the city for a while. But now, I am with him in the town he’s from. It’s about an hour away from the city. He owns his own business,” I praise him. “He’s very successful,” I add despite the fact that I have no idea about Ray’s finances. But I don’t think they’re good.
“Oh, wow, what kind of business?” Jeanine sounds more excited now. “Maybe he is someone we’ve heard about. Wouldn’t that be amazing?”
I wince at that. How do I explain to my friends that I am with a man who owns a towing business? I mean, it is honest work, but in my world, this type of work is beneath our station. We do not mix with blue collar workers.
“Uh, I doubt it,” I tell Jeanine.
“You never know,” she insists. “We run in circles with all the important people. They do business all across the Midwest and on the West Coast, too. What is his last name?”
I swallow around the lump in my throat. I’m not sure I can save this situation.
“Ray is not in business like that, Jeanine,” I gently inform her, but she’s not getting the message.
“What field is he in?”
“He, uh, is in…” I look around in an effort to find something that might work. “He is in the automotive field.”
“Wow,” the two of them say in unison.
“I must say that I am impressed,” Jeanine declares. “Who would’ve thought that our little Hayden would end up with an Elon Musk type of guy.”
“Holy mother of God, he is a billionaire!” Emma exclaims. “How could you have found him on theHolidatesapp? I want one, too.”
“I found him for her,” Jeanine announces, pride obvious in her voice. “It was me!”
“Whoa, Jeanie, you need to find me a billionaire, too. Please,” Emma begs.
I close my eyes and sigh in frustration. The conversation is out of control, and I know I need to fix it before it gets worse.
“Ray is not a billionaire, girls.”
Both of them get quiet.
“That’s okay,” Emma tries to sound reassuring. “A multi-millionaire is just as good. So much better than being poor.”
Her laughter grates on my nerves. The fact that she is so dismissive of Ray and the type of person he is without money only serves to show me how shallow we all are.
The three of us, along with Adeline who is no present for this train wreck of a call, are trust fund babies, neither one of us having worked to make that money. We do have a very busy social life, and we participate in a lot of charity events, for which we also raise money.
“He’s a very hard worker.” I get defensive now. “And incredibly smart. He has lots of employees that he has to manage, and he sometimes has to do physical labor…”
“So heispoor,” Jeanine interrupts me. I can picture her rolling her eyes.
“He is not poor,” I insist.
Emma sighs in my ear. “Honey, are you sure you’re not being held there against your will?”
“What? No! How many times do I need to tell you guys! I want to be here. I love being with him…”
“Youlovebeing with him?” Jeanine again. “Hayden…” There’s pity in her tone now. “He’s brainwashing you, honey.”
I am clenching my teeth so hard, I worry they might crack. My dentist is back in Boston, and he is the only one I trust touching my teeth.
“I hate to agree with Jeanine…” Emma’s voice is much softer. “But I think she’s right about this, Hayden. This man is after your money.”
