Page 7 of Keep My Secrets
How many other girls has he had Mia help with? How many times has she gone shopping with Theo’s flavor of the week?
“Oh, you’re cute.” She smiles before she says, “Shit, sorry that was inappropriate.” She blushes, but I smile back. I like her. She’s probably not much older than me, with long, dark hair curled to perfection. She looks like she belongs in the city.
“I take it Theo doesn’t usually have the best taste in women?” The second the sentence is out of my mouth, I regret it. I don’t want to know.
“Wouldn’t know. He’s never brought anyone home before.” That gets my attention. What does that even mean?
“Never?”
“Not to my knowledge. I know he’s been in what he considersrelationshipsbefore, but he’s never brought anyone home. He’s really protective of his space.” Yet here I am, alone in his penthouse, waiting on a furniture delivery to create my own space. My gaze looks up toward the loft, wondering what it all means.
“What do you mean by‘what he considers relationships’?” Does she know that he likes a certain dynamic? Was she ever in that kind of relationship with him?
“What we would consider a situationship, he views as a type of relationship. But he never brings them here. They never go out on dates just because. I don’t try to pry into his personal life. But being around him so often, I get the sense they are just hook ups, but he feels bad for calling them just hook ups.” Her phone buzzes and it pulls her attention away. Her demeanor turns serious for a brief moment, but relaxes before returning her gaze to mine. Remind me to play poker with her, she is such an easy read.
“Everything ok?”
“Yup, just some work stuff.”
“If you’re busy today, you don’t have to come out with me.” Day one in Theo’s life and I’m already inconveniencing those around me.
“Nope, I told them I was out of office on a project for Mr. Reeves. You really think I would give up a day of shopping to sit in an office and listen to old men talk? No thanks.”
I can’t help but laugh. If this situation wasn’t so weird, I could see us being close friends. Maybe we still can be, I mean she doesn’t work for me.
“Where are we going?”
“Well, I have an interview on Monday and need some office attire, and I need a new laptop. And then we can really go and do anything we want.” I flash Theo’s Amex, and I can see the wheels turning behind Mia’s eyes. This is going to be so fun.
My phone buzzes, and I look down to see Theo’s name flash across the screen.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Baby, everything ok?”
“Yeah, why? What’s up?”
“I saw Mia had come over. Wanted to make sure nothing was wrong.”
“Watching the cameras?” I laugh. I’m not even surprised.
“I got a notification that someone had entered the house, wanted to make sure you were safe,” he explains.
“Thank you for being concerned. But no, nothing is wrong. I asked her to take me shopping today to get the things I need for my interview. I hope that’s ok.”
“Sounds good. Be safe, and hourly updates.”
“Will do. Now that I’m going shopping and spending your money, do you want to give me a budget?”
“I’ve told you before, no budget. Buy what you need, get whatever you want. The card won’t decline.” I can’t help but roll my eyes, but if he says to spend, I’ll spend.
“We’re about to take off. I expect proof of purchases and location updates when I land.”
“Yes, Daddy,” I say before remembering Mia is standing in the room, but I can hear his smile when he responds.
“Good girl. I’ll see you soon.”
The call ends, and I look over towards Mia, who is not hiding the fact that she really wants to address the Daddy comment.
