She’s frozen. In shock.
“Come on, Georgie. Open the box. Are you going to deny me that pleasure?”
She looks deeply conflicted. But, still, she doesn’t move.
“Aren’t you the least bit curious what item in a store window reminded me of you so much, I felt called to buy it for you, on the spot?”
That does it. Her curiosity gets the best of her. With a trembling hand, Georgina takes the box from me and slowly opens it—and then sucks in a sharp inhale when she beholds the stunning treasure inside: a baroque-style ruby necklace set in Spanish gold, its multitude of deep-red gems cascading down in golden dripping, chandelier settings.
“Oh my God,” she whispers. She puts her free hand on her heart. “Reed. This is...exquisite.”
And so are you,I think. And it’s the truth. The look on her face is everything I dreamed it would be and more. Even though I know she’sgoing to sell it, this moment made buying the perfect piece of jewelry for her, rather than some placeholder that happened to be of the right monetary value, well worth it.
Georgina’s eyes prick with tears. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” she whispers. She’s shaking. Flushed.Beautiful.
“The crazy thing is,” I say, my chest heaving every bit as much as hers, “I didn’t even know rubies are your birthstone when I first saw it. The saleswoman inside the store told me about rubies after I asked her to show me the necklace. Did you know rubies are called ‘the king’s gem’?”
Georgina shakes her head, looking like a teary-eyed deer in headlights.
“It turns out, the king’s gem is highly symbolic. They symbolize power and blood. Passion, desire, and fire. All of which is perfect for you, Georgina,because you’re passion and power embodied. A human flame.”And you’ve infiltrated my blood. I grab Georgina’s limp hand. “Ever since I first laid eyes on you, I’ve wanted to tie you to my bed and show you what your body can do, if only you’re willing to surrender completely. But then I got to know you, and I realized I had to wait to do that with you. I knew you’d enjoy it and have fun, to be sure, which is good enough for some... but with you, I didn’t simply want to show you a good time. I wanted to show you something that would transform you.” I squeeze her hand. “Tonight’s finally the night, Georgina. You’re ready to let go completely. You’re ready to trust me. And I can’t wait another night. Tonight, you’re going to wear that necklace for me—a necklace dripping in the king’s gems—and let me worship you as my queen.”
I’ve rendered her speechless.
“Say yes, Georgie.”
She swallows hard. She looks deeply conflicted. Which is exactly as expected. Indeed, I fully expected and counted on Georgina’s conflicting emotions when I bought this necklace in the first place. “I can’t,” she says. “I mean, yes, tie me up.Please. I’ve wanted you to do that since you mentioned it the other night in front of your gate. But I can’t accept this gift from you. It’s too generous.”
“I won’t take no for an answer.”
She frowns. “The truth is, I can’t own thousands of dollars in rubies when my father is on the brink of losing his condo, any day now. If I tookthis necklace from you, I wouldn’t be able to resist selling it behind your back at my first opportunity, so I could give the proceeds to my father.”
I force myself not to smile.Damn, I’m good.
When Henn called this afternoon to give me the grand total of what Georgie’s father owes on his condo, and also to tell me that a third notice had just gone out to him from the bank—meaning the guy is mere days away from being foreclosed upon, I knew I had to act fast. But I also knew paying off the guy’s loan would be a bit tricky.
Georgie would never accept a straight-up check from me. That much I know. Nor could I anonymously pay off the loan. Georgie would instantly know who’d paid it... and then, quite possibly, quickly put two and two together, and think, “If Reed covertly paid off Dad’s loan, maybe he also covertly paid for Dad’s medication...and my salary.” Which, obviously, isn’t something I want Georgina to be thinking, especially now that I know the story of Mr. Gates.
But, still, there was no question I had to pay off that damned mortgage somehow, as soon as possible, but in a way that didn’t lead Georgina straight back to me. I needed a creative solution... a way Georgina would accept the money from me, in the first place, and also that wouldn’t make her suspect my prior “donations” to her and her father.
And then it came to me. A perfect solution.Don’t rich men impulsively buy the women they’re fucking sparkling baubles all the time?Isn’t that a trope nobody ever questions?
Now, granted,I’venever bought a single piece of jewelry for any woman, other than my mother. Who, by the way, never wears the thing I bought her. But Georgina doesn’t know that. Indeed, as far as she knows, I’m the kind of rich dude who sees a sparkly ruby necklace in a window at Tiffany’s and buys it for his flavor of the month on the spot, just because he can. Georgina has no idea I’d never actually do that.
Although, come to think of it, maybe Iwoulddo that. Because, hell, I did. Today. Yes, my ultimate plan was to give Georgina a gift she could sell off, a gift that would yield the perfect payday for her and her father, without Georgina suspecting my endgame. But if paying off the mortgage had truly been my only motivation, then why did I buythisparticular necklace—a piece of jewelry with almost triple the price tag of Georgina’s father’s debt? Why ask the saleswoman to see whateverpieces they had in the range of eighty grand, but then immediately ignore all the pieces she’d laid out for me the instant I happened to notice this particular ruby necklace, worth over two hundred grand, sitting in a display case on the opposite side of the store?
Obviously, when I bought the necklace, instead of one of the options in the range of eighty grand, I wasn’t thinking about the loan any longer. I wasn’t thinking about my brilliant plan. All that mattered to me in that delirious, impulsive moment was seeing Georgina open the box that heldthatparticular necklace. All that mattered to me was seeingthatparticular necklace on Georgie’s slender neck, if only for one night, and having the pleasure of fucking her in my bed while she wore it. I knew Georgie wouldn’t keep the ruby necklace for long, exactly according to plan. But, in that moment, I knew seeing Georgina wearing theperfectnecklace in my bed was worth far more to me than my two hundred twenty grand.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I feel terrible admitting I’d sell it. Please forgive me.”
I’m quiet for a long moment. Partly, because I’m pretending to process Georgina’s “shocking” confession. But also because I’m genuinely shocked. Not by the content of Georgina’s confession, but by the fact that she’s making it to me at all. Yes, I knew she’d sell the necklace. That was the point of me giving it to her in the first place. But I thought Georgina would take the necklace from me and then sell it behind my back.
I clear my throat. “I didn’t realize things were so dire for your father.”
Her shoulders droop. “He just got a third notice from the bank. I don’t know what that means, exactly. But I know it can’t be good.”
“How much does your father owe, if you don’t mind me asking? Because, whether you like it or not, this necklace is yours, to do with as you please, even if that means you’re going to return it to the store for cash.”
“Oh, gosh, no, Reed. I couldn’t possibly?—”
