Mastered(58)

Her hand brushed over something hard against the softness of the sumptuous sheets and she frowned, sitting up. She pulled the covers up to cover her breasts and then laughed. Who was she hiding herself from? There was no one here.

She eyed the box with trepidation, recognizing it as being almost identical in shape and size to the gift he’d presented her with the night before. Her hand went automatically to the necklace he’d given her that still hung around her neck.

Her heart sank. Was this another outrageously expensive gift?

There was a note beside it, but she couldn’t bring herself to read it before opening the box that sat there as if taunting her. She made quick work of it this time and opened the jeweler’s box to reveal a stunning pair of diamond solitaire earrings.

Oh. My. God.

All she could do was stare in absolute befuddlement. They were huge. She had no idea what constituted a carat, but these had to be in the multiple-carat class of diamond earrings. She hadn’t seen rings with diamonds this big. And she was supposed to wear them? What if one fell off? What if she lost one?

She could probably buy a house back home with what these earrings cost. It made her faintly ill to be holding something so valuable in her hands, and she hastily set them away and picked up the note.

Jax will come by the apartment at one o’clock to pick you up and bring you to the club. Dress casual, but bring something dressy and sexy to change into later. You’ll spend the day with me and come home with me from the club late tonight. I hope you like the earrings. You outshine them any day of the week, but I want my angel to sparkle. Plan to have lunch and dinner with me.

She sagged. Was he purposely keeping her off balance by throwing a new man at her at every turn, or was he simply introducing her to each of the men he insisted would accompany her any time he wasn’t with her?

She stared at the glittering diamonds and knew now she’d have to wear them or risk angering him by rejecting his gift. She would just pray one didn’t fall off or she didn’t misplace them when she took them off at the end of the evening.

Then when she checked the time, she panicked. Drake had told her Jax, whoever he was, would be there at one. It was ten past one now! She never slept this late. Even after a long shift, she was always up before the others. There were too many things to do, too many responsibilities to take care of.

Unbidden, something Drake had said the previous evening came to mind. He’d wanted her parents’ account number and routing number. She had them, of course, but how was she to explain the sudden influx of money into their account? Never once had she lied to her mother, but she was sorely tempted to tell her something outlandish like she’d won the lottery or something equally absurd.

She was well on her way to a full-scale panic attack when she heard a voice in the distance.

“Yo, Evangeline. Jax here. Drake wanted me to pick you up at one. You need to get a move on. The boss doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”#p#分页标题#e#

She jumped and nearly shrieked but clamped a hand over her mouth to prevent sound from escaping. Her heart was racing from the unexpected fright. And then she got pissed. She was really tired of hearing that Drake didn’t like to be kept waiting.

“You tell Drake that he’ll just have to get over it,” Evangeline yelled crossly. “I’ll be ready when I’m ready and not before.”

A deep male chuckle was her only response.

Despite her bravado, she scrambled out of bed, turning in circles as she tried to figure out what to do first. Shower. Right. Then she’d figure out what to wear. She would have to figure out how to tackle the issue of her parents when she got to the club because she didn’t have time for that kind of a phone call right now.

She was in and out in five minutes, hastily combing through her wet hair and towel-drying the strands as much as possible. Then she headed for the closet where all her things had been put.

Casual. Okay, she could do casual. Casual she was well acquainted with. It was the dressy part that she was clueless about. What exactly did Drake consider dressy?

She chose a pair of outrageously expensive but oh-so-very-comfortable jeans that made her sigh when she pulled them on. Then she grabbed one of the lacy push-up bras she’d chosen and turned her attention to what top she should wear.

The last couple of days had been cooler, though summer hadn’t quite given way to fall yet, and she remembered that Drake’s office felt like a meat locker, so she picked a short-sleeved cashmere sweater with a plunging neckline with folds that discreetly covered everything it should.

As for the shoes, she went straight for the sparkly pair of flats that she simply hadn’t been able to resist.