“Just yourself, Danielle.” I’ve never given a client my real name. “We’ll be in a room of rich men who only care what you look like on my arm. They won’t remember your name the next time they see you with me.”
He’s not wrong. I’ve been to so many events with him, and I don’t think I’ve ever been asked my name. I’m looked over like a piece of meat and nothing more than a ditsy gold digger. It never bothered me until now. I finally met someone who looks at me as if I’m worth more than my pretty face.
“Do I have a job, or are you my sugar daddy?”
“You’re too beautiful to work, Danielle. I want them all to know that I look after what’s mine.” He reaches for me, but I can’t even look at him right now. Ryder said those words to me last night, and I felt them in my soul. Loved. Protected.His.
“Thank you for the compliment, Joseph. You are always so sweet to me,” I say as I stare out the window.
“If you’d let me, I would always take care of you.” My pulse is racing, and anxiety is gripping my heart. I shouldn’t be here. Suddenly, the money doesn’t seem worth it for letting this man think he could ever own my body. I’m sick to my stomach.
We ride the rest of the way in silence, his hand resting firmly on my knee, exposed through the slit in my dress. When we arrive, I take a deep breath the moment he steps out of the car, fighting to compose myself before he rounds the car to open my door.
I can do this. I’ve done it a hundred times. It’s just business. That’s what I tell myself as the door opens and the cameras start flashing as he helps me from the car. Joseph wraps his arm around my waist, claiming me as we navigate the red carpet, and I’m gripped with fear. What if Ryder sees a picture of Joseph and me in the newspaper? What would he think of me? I would never cheat on him, so why do I feel like I am? There’s a gnawing dread that takes root in the pit of my stomach.
Joseph’s hand on the small of my back is like a hot poker, branding me, burning me, a physical pain in my chest at the realization. I don’t want any other man touching me.
I plaster a smile on my face and do my job. To all those around us, I’m the perfect little gold digger as we make our way inside and work the room. Countless introductions—some of them to people I’ve met before, confirming what Joseph said on the car ride here. They don’t even remember my name, but why should I care? It’s not even my real name.
It never occurred to me that once I found a man who looked at me, who really looked at me for who I am, I wouldn’t be able to tolerate this anymore.
I want to be Ryder’s in any way I can. I will be whatever he needs me to be.
When we take our seats for dinner, I’m on my second glass of champagne by the time the dinner starts. As with all these events, the food is incredible and isn’t nearly appreciated enough by the monied-up attendees at our table. We make small talk, and I hang on every word out of Joseph’s mouth, smiling when appropriate, laughing at his jokes, and letting him make a show of holding my hand at the table.
These events are all the same. Glitz, glamor, and zero substance, but one day I’ll be running my own restaurant, just like Ryder Stevens.
Ryder.
My eyes find his murderous gaze across the room, and my heartbeat grinds to a halt.Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.He’s standing next to Dalton Callaghan, the billionaire philanthropist, his attention fixed on me.
“I need to go to the restroom and freshen up,” I say in a strangled voice that’s unrecognizable as my own. I extricate my hand from Joseph’s grasp and grab my purse.
“I’ll come with you,” one of the ladies at the table insists. She might be my saving grace because Ryder looks about ready to hunt me down and flay me. I try to ignore the panic rising in my chest, but I can feel his eyes boring into me.
“So how did you meet Joseph?” My mind goes blank at her attempt at small talk. What am I supposed to say? Did he give me a backstory? I swallow past the lump in my throat, my pulse pounding so hard in my ears I can barely hear her.
Think, Aspen. It’s as if I’ve never done this before. All I can think about is Ryder and how I’m going to explain what he just saw. I don’t want to lie to him the way I do to everyone else.
“I dropped my purse in a restaurant bar, and Joseph was helpful enough to bend down and pick it up for me. We struck up a conversation, and here we are.”
“How sweet.”
“What about you? How did you meet your husband?” I spy Ryder in my peripheral vision as we disappear into the sanctuary of the ladies’ restroom, and I’m starting to hyperventilate.
“College sweethearts. We’ve been together for twenty years. He saw me studying in the library and said it was love at first sight. He pretended to be in the same class as me so I would help him study for ‘our’ psychology final.”
“That’s so sweet.”
“I thought so. It’s been an adventure for sure.” I grip the porcelain sink to ground myself. “Are you okay? You look a little pale.”
“I’m fine. I just need to splash some water on my face.” I struggle to keep my breathing in check, but I can’t fall apart right now. No matter what Iwantto do, I’m being paid a lot of money tonight, so I need to get my shit together.
“Aspen.” I hear his voice just outside the door, but I can’t very well answer him when the woman standing next to me thinks my name is Danielle.
“You go ahead. I’m going to stay in here for a minute or two.”
“I don’t want to leave you if you’re feeling unwell.”
