The car ride was super quiet as we rode silently to his home. I wondered why he wouldn't accept this proposal from the Greys. After all, they seemed like genuinely kind people, so why would he refuse just because he was claiming me as his girlfriend? I was no more his girlfriend than I was his maid. "Sam... I need you to take her shopping again. She needs a whole new wardrobe to sell this lie to the Greys." Milo interrupts the silence.
"Okay, but did you forget what happened the last time I took her shopping?" Sam asks.
Milo begins to laugh, "I recall... that's why you'll be heading to a mall in a neighboring city instead of the one near here. I do not need you to deal with another nuisance. I will need you to be elsewhere all day since the Greys will be at my door tomorrow to ask me to accept her as my wife. Am I understood?" he asks.
"Yes."
"Yes, boss! The order is clear!" Sam answered, nodding toward me.
"Good, I don't want her to be there when they knock on my door. Make sure to leave as early in the morning as possible," he growls at the two of us, and I wonder why he is acting in this way.
"Excuse me, but can I ask why you want me out of the house?" I asked him. I needed an answer.
He turned his head so that he could look directly at me. "Because my dear Naomi, they will see through the lie if they see you in your uniform now, won't they? I need you to have some everyday clothes just in case. Also, I am not interested in Suzie Grey. That girl is nothing I want. She is trained to take over the gang. I do not want them to swoop in and steal my gang away from under my nose. That's what I would have to face if I married her. I have worked so hard to get to where I am. I am determined not to let it slip away from me. Everything here is mine. All the girls in the basement are mine. All the guys on my payroll are mine. You are mine. I'm not willing to share you with anyone else!" he exclaimed to me.
I studied his face for a second. "Okay."
Sam piped up, "Way to put it out of their boss, so I will ask if I may... but are you now making an official claim on her?" he replied with a smirk, glaring at Milo. As Sam gestures toward me with his hands, I narrow my eyes. Why does it matter whether Milo puts a claim on me or not? To him, I was off-limits.
Milo turns to Sam taking in a deep breath before speaking, "I am not staking a claim on her, but I must make this very clear to you, Sam. During our time together she is totally off-limits to everyone but me. Am I making myself clear?" he growls at Sam.
"Got it boss... is that when I can officially take her?" Sam asks through a smirk; it almost seemed like it was fun to piss him off this way.
"Why? Why do you want her so badly Sam?" He snaps at him, practically getting in his face.
"Look at her Milo, she is gorgeous, or are your eyes broken?" Sam snaps back, ignoring the conversation going on about me. By gazing out the window and seeing his home come into view I relaxed a little bit. I was starting to feel more comfortable with him, with them. I had to admit that he had been pretty gracious to me so far, even if he was only using me for his own benefit.
I hear a deep, clear voice and glance over and see that Milo's face was bright red and he looked angry. "MY EYES ARE NOT BROKE!" he growls getting into Sam's face. I wondered if I should break it up, but I decided to just let them take care of it while I just sat back and watched. "But, I do not, I repeat, I do not want a real girlfriend or a wife. My life is too complicated to have someone else involved in it."
I studied Milo carefully, studying his features, and then I looked at Sam... in all reality, both of these guys were very handsome. In theory, I could see myself with either one of them if I didn't know what they were involved with. I'm not sure I would choose either one for myself, knowing the kind of life they lead. But being forced to stay here with them is no better, isn't it?
"Let's just go inside Boss, I'll drop this... you win! It's Bedtime Boss!" Sam said softly, opening the door and getting out of the limo. I watch as Milo follows suit, and I carefully slip out as quietly as I can. Standing up, I feel a strong hand steady me as I nearly get pulled down by sheer force. One of them was standing on the skirt of my dress. Looking up I see Sam holding my arm as he shoves Milo roughly off my dress. He then laughs loudly, then Milo glares daggers at him, "What? You were stepping on her skirt, she could have fallen and gotten hurt."
"So you hurt the boss to save this girl? You are unbelievable!" he snaps out. I ignore both of them and grab the skirt of my dress in my hands and begin walking in. I am not one for dresses, so I really wanted to get out of this one as soon as possible.
As I hurried up the stairs and into his room, I stopped in my tracks staring at the wall that held my room. I still didn't know how to open the door to the room so I waited for him to come up the stairs. I only had to wait about 20 minutes before he stepped into the room and cleared his throat to let me know he was there. I turned around to face him, gulping air as I saw his face. He had a smirk across his face as he gradually closed the distance between us. "Are you OK with all of this Naomi?" he asked me as he stopped right in front of me.
"All of what, sir?" I ask for clarification.
He wraps his hand around my wrist and pulls me gently into his arms as he stares into my eyes. "Are you okay with pretending to be my girl?"
I stared at his brown eyes. "Do I have a choice, sir?" I whispered.
He smiled a bit. His gaze moved to my lips as I bit my lip afraid that he might make a move on me right now. "No, you don't. I've decided that this is how you will repay the money you owe me. I'll knock off $200 a day, as long as you pretend to be my girlfriend," he says, his eyes lingering on my mouth. "And because of this, you are not allowed to fall for anyone else except me, understand?" he asks before moving closer to me.
"Wait," I shrieked out, forcing him to pause an inch from my mouth. I stared into his eyes, which were so close to mine. "Why do you want me to fall for you?"
He takes a step back and laughs, "Of course, I don't want you to fall for me, but you can't be with anyone else either. We both know that Sam has a thing for you and I forbid you from starting anything with him! Understand?" he growls out as he lowers his mouth to mine for a brief peck. I have never kissed anyone other than Jax, and I wasn't sure if I liked it. "I guess I should let you into your room now," he says as he punches a code into the wall and I watch the door open to my room.
"Thank you, goodnight Milo," I say softly as I step toward the doorway. I feel a tug on my dress, and then I am quickly thrown back around to face him. I fling my hands up, placing them on his chest as he bends down toward me. "Um, Milo," I say to him. "What are you doing?"
"I'm giving you a goodnight kiss," he smiles, then presses his mouth to mine. This kiss was deep and full of need. Feeling breathless as he breaks the kiss I stare up into his eyes and smile. "Good night my sweet Naomi, I hope you sleep well! By morning I need an honest answer from you - whether or not you're willing to pretend to be my girl!" he says softly, releasing his grip on me. "Now go to bed, I'll wake you at 6 am sharp!"
"Thank you." was all I could manage as I turned around and headed into my room, my heart pounding so loudly that I could easily hear it in my head. After a moment the door closes, locking me inside the room. I attempt to remove the zipper and am shocked to discover he has already unzipped the zipper on the lower back of my dress. I can slip it off. I climb back into bed without changing out of my bra and pants, pulling the covers all the way up. I close my eyes and try to drift off to sleep. A lot of things happened today, and I find it difficult to shut the thoughts swirling around in my head. I couldn't stop thinking about the kiss I shared with Milo right before bed. Did it mean he actually liked me?
The next morning...
As he shakes me awake, I open my eyes and see his face right in front of mine. At first, I worried something was wrong, but then he asked... "Do you have an answer for me?" He looked worried, almost scared that I would deny him what he wanted. The way he looked at me was almost cute.
"Um, how long will I have to pretend to be your girlfriend?" I asked him, refusing to give him the answer he wanted.
I watch as his lips curve into a smile. "Yep, it'll mean you'll be mine until I no longer need you anymore. Does that make sense to you now?" he asks.
"Yes," I whisper, lowering my eyes to the floor.
"So you're saying yes to being my girl right?" he demanded an answer.
"Yes, Milo, I will do it," I reply softly. He jumps up off the bed causing me to drop the covers revealing my pink bra once again. I catch the smirk he gives me as I scramble to cover up.
"Oh my god, yes! Let's go!" he says hurriedly throwing a pile of fabric at me. "Here, these are for you to wear today. I hope they work because I didn't want to send you out shopping in that revealing maid's uniform again. I will be waiting for you downstairs. Hurry and get changed." He says and leaves the room. I picked up the pile of clothing and looked at what he had given me. It was a pair of women's black sweatpants, a women's white tank top, women's tennis shoes, and a single pair of socks. I silently wondered what girl he borrowed these from as I slipped them on. I turn and head into my bathroom and brush out my hair, pulling it into a high messy bun. I then head down to the kitchen to eat something before my long day of shopping.
As I walk into the kitchen, I immediately spot Sam munching on some food at the table. He waves me over to join him. I make my way over to where he was sitting before I notice the second plate of waffles at the table next to him. "Here's your plate, cupcake!" he says with a friendly smile.
"Okay, thanks," I reply, taking a seat next to him to eat some breakfast.
He smiles back at me, "I see you have the clothes Mrs. White lent you."
"Thanks." I didn't know what else to say to him.
"No problem, Milo asked me to get you something to wear instead of that damn maid uniform he tried so hard to get you to wear." He laughed and I stared at him in confusion. "So, I assume the boss has made a claim on you after all?"