Page 105 of Rich Girl
I can’t believe I have a boss. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d have a job, a menial one at that, and a boss who would keep track of what I’m doing.
My parents were appalled when I informed them of it, but then, they got busy with their world travels and forgot about it.
“That’d be great, Evie.” I look around to make sure I didn’t miss anything while cleaning. “I need to take a shower and do my hair.”
Hair and makeup is still a big deal for me even though I don’t make it a priority on some days. I also want high-quality clothing items even if they’re more modest looking. No reason not to have the best since I can afford it.
“Have a good weekend, Hayden,” Evie calls out to me. “I can’t wait to hear about your date when I see you on Monday.
I wave at her and step out of the shop, heading toward where I parked Ray’s Jeep. That is the one thing I did not want to upgrade. It holds fond memories for me, and I love driving it around, especially after Ray put some upgrades on it.
The next three hours go by really fast. I am putting the finishing touches on my hair when I hear the doorbell ringing. That is odd since Ray usually lets himself in.
As I run to the door, I chuckle to myself. Answering the door has never been on my bucket list. I used to have Maria doing all that for me. Fortunately, Adeline was more than happy to take her in.
One thing that I haven’t been able to do on my own is actually keeping the house clean, so I do have someone that comes twice a week to make sure it doesn’t look like a bomb went off. My cooking is also pretty sketchy, so I use a service for that. They send me these frozen meals that are to die for, but it’s taken me a while to figure out how to defrost it and what the perfect temperature was to cook it under despite the detailed instructions it came with.
Meanwhile, Evie’s best friend, Carrie, offered to show me a few things in the kitchen. So far, all my attempts at her house bombed. I decided to take a break from it because her boyfriend, James, was eyeballing me with incredulity each time, like he couldn’t believe I didn’t know how to boil an egg. Whatever.
I pull the door open and smile at what I find there. Ray is standing in the entryway, dressed in a navy suit with a blue-collared shirt that does amazing things to his eyes. He is holding a large bouquet of roses.
“They’re beautiful,” I tell him when he hands them over.
“Yes,” Ray agrees. “Evie outdid herself with it. I was going to buy one of your arrangements, but then I thought it would be weird.”
I giggle and press my face into the flowers. Even though I smell them all day long nowadays, I can’t get enough of them.
“You look beautiful.”
Ray eyes me up and down as I place the roses in a vase before placing them on my dining room table.
“I love dressing up. It feels special now that I don’t do it every day anymore.”
He gives me half a smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes, which I find very concerning. I actually thought he’d love my dress so much that he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off me. His hands are in the pockets of his pressed slacks…
“I’d love to kiss the hell out of you, but we need to go,” he tells me as if he can read my mind.
I grab my small clutch bag and make sure my lipstick, phone and keys are in it before we walk out the door.
When we get outside, I freeze on the small sidewalk that leads to the street. A limousine is there waiting for us.
“What did you do?” I turn to look at Ray.
In the corner of my eye, I notice the next-door neighbor, Gertrude, standing in her yard. She’s not even pretending like she’s not being nosy. Cal Prentice warned us about her when I first moved in here.
“She likes to look through the windows, so make sure you don’t walk around naked unless you want to show off to her.”
“Hi, Gertrude,” Ray now calls out to her.
Instead of just waving and going on with her life, she rushes to come out and talk to us.
“Why, Ray Parker, this is so romantic. Your grandpa would be proud.”
He smiles and nods in thanks.
“What’s the big occasion?” she continues. “I saw the flowers. That was a bit over the top, so you know. They’re going to die anyway.”
My mouth drops in shock at hearing her.
