Ellery - Goodnight
Juniper
I lookedat myself in the mirror a final time. "Are you sure this looks okay?"
"You look like a million bucks," Jay said over Facetime. "He's going to eat you up."
I hoped at least the first part was true. I went to a small boutique downtown with Casey. The woman who helped me didn't think I belonged there either, but as soon as I pulled out the card, she was more than helpful.
It was an off the shoulder navy dress that hugged my curves in all the right places. There was a slit that went up to mid thigh, showing off my calf and the matching shoes. I tried to keep the makeup tame, with a light dusting of blush, a bit of mascara, and a nude lip to top it all off. I left my hair down, using my curling rod to put in some large beach waves.
"Wear the silver hoops you have," Jay said. "The ones you wore to the cookout over the summer."
"Good call." I moved to my jewelry case and took those out, shoving them into my ears.
I wished Casey was here tonight too, to help hype me up, but she stayed late at her office again. When I told her what wasgoing on, she laughed just as hard as I did, until she realized I was serious. She still believed he was going to rip me off, or was really carting me off to do nefarious things to me, but I believed him. And I believed this money would be a big step towards our future. Though, I did share my location with her, just in case.
I turned back to the camera. "You look perfect," they said.
"Thanks." I checked the time. "I need to go, he'll be here any minute."
"Have fun, and tell me everything on Tuesday."
"Will do."
He disappeared and I took one final look. I did look hot.
When I came back into work after Ellery’s proposition, Jay demanded details. I was able to stave them off for a little while, but not forever, and eventually I spilled that Ellery had asked me on a date. I didn't tell them about our arrangement, or meeting his parents, but I was glad to have their help getting ready. At least giving me the confidence to get through this.
The night I had gone home after accepting his ludicrous idea, I did some research. He was right, there were photos of him like this everywhere, dating back years. One of the more recent ones was with a woman with stark hair that was gorgeous. In fact, all of the women in these photos were.
I then did a bit of digging on the Scott family as a whole. Apparently Corecords was a ginormous consulting firm that made millions every year. I saw photo after photo of the family, all with hard smiles and perfect postures. Though I liked everyone I had met at dinner, it seemed Ellery was right before about the practiced smile. It was almost creepy once you started to notice.
It made me recall his words from the first night.You don’t look like you belong here.I was starting to realize he was right.
I thought about calling it off more than once over the week. Once, I even had an entire message typed out, but I couldn't bring myself to send it.
Trying to comfort myself, I opened my phone and pulled up my dream board. It may have been silly, but I looked at it whenever I needed to remember what my goals were, what I was trying to do. PlanD was my dream, moving us both up in the world. Big house, fancy car with a name I couldn’t pronounce, rejecting parties like the Baker’s because I knew the food would be terrible. This one night would cut my goal in half.
"You can do this," I said to myself.
I started to get anxious I was getting stood up. I checked the clock and it was almost half past by the time the text came through.
Ellery - I'm outside
With one final deep breath, I turned to exit my apartment. As I did, I realized with my purse and jacket in hand I couldn’t open the door. I spoke a few words and the knob turned and opened in front of me as I slid my sparkly boots on. Casey was right sometimes, a bit of magic was super useful. I did the same thing when leaving, except to close and lock the door before going down stairs.
When I saw his car on the curb I rolled my eyes. It was some kind of expensive sports car, and the exact thing I expected him to have. He was outside, leaning against it. He wore a suit that I noticed upon further inspection was navy also. Though I wasn't too keen on matching him, at least it would help sell what was happening.
"Hey." He opened the door for me in a gesture I didn't expect, at least not now when we were the only ones around. “Sorry I was late, I got distracted.”
"Hey, no worries" I responded, feeling a bit awkward. I was on his time after all.
He shut my door then came around, getting into the car himself. As soon as he was behind the wheel, his expensive cologne permeated the air. That same musky sweet smell he had the day we met.
He opened his phone and clicked around a few times. "There," he said.
I wasn't sure what he meant, until my phone chimed and my eyes widened as I looked down. Five thousand dollars had been deposited into my account.
