He leans in, and I think he’s going to kiss me. My thighs press together, and I lick my lips in anticipation.
But then he simply kisses my forehead again.
“Because I can.” He walks away, leaving me feeling cold. “Shelly will be here at seven.”
I scowl. “Who the hell is Shelly?”
“A personal shopper. You need more clothes.”
And with that, he closes the bathroom door, and I can only stare after him.
I’m in an alternate universe.
Eighteen
LULU
I’m in the middle of eating an entire pizza by myself—I’msohungry—when a woman waltzes into the penthouse, pulling two racks of clothes, and then another woman follows, also pulling two more racks of clothes.
I stop chewing and stare. Rome left after the pizza came and told me to make myself at home, so I’m sitting at the dining room table, still in my sleep clothes, legs crossed under me, and I’m no longer alone.
“You must be Lulu,” woman number one says with a bright smile. “I’m Shelly. This is my sister, Sheila.”
Now that I get a good look, I see that they’re twins.
“Hi,” I reply, setting my slice of pepperoni down. “You’re early.”
“I know,” Shelly says, brushing a lock of her red hair out of her eyes, “but Mr. Alexander mentioned that you have to work at nine, and I wanted to give you plenty oftime. Men don’t understand that this can be time-consuming.”
“Nice to meetcha,” Sheila says with a wave.
Abandoning my plate, I cross to where the women are fussing with the clothes, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I’m not a stranger to shopping, I’ve done plenty of that in my lifetime, but the store has never come to me.
“I think we got your size right,” Sheila says with a nod. “And if anything doesn’t fit, but you love it, we can exchange it.”
“I don’t really have a big budget,” I inform them.
“Oh, honey, don’t worry about that. Mr. Alexander already paid for everything.”
I shake my head and take a few steps back just as the door opens, and Rome walks in. He surveys the scene and nods at the women.
“Ladies,” he says. “Does the living room work, or would you rather use the den?”
“I’ll change in the bathroom,” I say as I cross to him and grab his hand, linking my fingers with his. He glances down at our hands but doesn’t pull away from me. “Can I please speak with you privately?”
“Of course,” he says, leading me toward his office.
“We’ll start with work wear,” Shelly calls out to me. “And we’ll meet you in the den.”
“Thanks,” I call back, then prop my hands on my hips when we get to the office. “You can’t buy me all of those clothes.”
Heleans back against the desk and crosses his arms, then rubs his finger over his lips. “Why not?”
“Because that’s … ridiculous.”
“Fine. You pay for them.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “I’ll buy a few things, but you just wasted their time, Rome.”
