Ruby nodded.
Yvonne left the bar. The deal was done. At the end of the year, Yvonne would have her inheritance. Ruby would have her five million dollars. They would go their separate ways.
All they had to do between now and then was convince the world that their marriage was real.
Chapter 4
Ruby stepped through the front door of Yvonne’s apartment and looked around. The apartment was huge, and it made the Vegas suite look tacky and cheap. Although it was uncluttered and plainly decorated, it didn’t feel empty. All the decor had a clean, minimalistic richness.
“This is a nice place.” Was this really Ruby’s home for an entire year? She could get used to this.
“I’ve only lived here a couple of years,” Yvonne said. “The penthouse was taken, so I had to settle.”
Yvonne tipped the doorman for bringing their bags up and headed into the apartment. Ruby followed, carefully containing the awe she felt. She didn’t want to look too impressed. That was a turn-off.
Not that it mattered in this case. Yvonne had made herself very clear that their arrangement was purely business, and they were already locked into it by the rings on their fingers. Ruby didn’t have to seduce Yvonne, didn’t have to play the perfect girlfriend. She didn’t have to pretend to be Yvonne’s fantasy. But Ruby had become so used to turning herself into the kind of person her client wanted her to be.
Ruby examined Yvonne as she followed her. Was ‘wife’ really all that Yvonne wanted Ruby to be?
Yvonne led her down a hall. “I have to be at work in an hour, so I’ll make this quick. You can have this room.” She opened a door to the right. “The housekeeper is due in today; I’ll have her make it up for you.”
Yvonne was giving Ruby her own bedroom? Clearly, she was serious about keeping their arrangement platonic. Ruby peered through the door to find a huge bedroom with a king-sized bed and an adjoining bathroom, along with a large sunny window through which the city below them could be seen.
“You’re welcome to replace the furnishings and decor to suit your tastes,” Yvonne said. “On that topic, I have something for you. Wait here.”
Ruby waited in the hall while Yvonne disappeared into another room. When she returned, she was holding a card in her hand.
“Here.” Yvonne handed Ruby the card. It was a credit card bearing Yvonne’s name. “This is yours. Use it to buy anything you need. If you’re going to live here for a year, I want you to be comfortable. Buy yourself a new wardrobe. You’ll need some pieces for when you accompany me on special occasions, but I’ll take care of those. The basics are up to you. Just make sure any outfits you buy are befitting of your status as my wife. That shouldn’t be difficult for you.” Her eyes swept down Ruby’s body. “I can tell you’re a woman of excellent tastes.”
Ruby bit her lip. Yvonne’s probing gaze made her skin hot.
“Don’t go too crazy,” Yvonne said. “If you want something big like a car, ask me first.”
Ruby nodded. With all these demands, she couldn’t help but feel like Yvonne was treating her like a child rather than her wife. However, something told Ruby that Yvonne would treat her actual wife the exact same way.
“I need a shower before work, so I’ll leave you to settle in. Have a look around. Make yourself at home. You’re free to do whatever you want during the day, but I need you home tonight. We need to discuss our cover story.”
Ruby nodded again. They’d talked about coming up with a cover story when they’d gotten on the plane in Vegas, but they’d been too tired to do anything but sleep during the red-eye flight. It had been Ruby’s first time flying first class and she’d slept through everything.
“We’ll also need to make this arrangement of ours official,” Yvonne said. “I’ll draw up a contract. Usually, I’d have my lawyers do it, but we should keep that part of our arrangement between us, for obvious reasons. I think both of us would feel more secure with our agreement in writing.”
“That’s a good idea,” Ruby said.
“I’ll leave you to it. Let me know if you need anything.” Yvonne headed to the end of the hall to what was presumably the master bedroom.
Ruby entered her bedroom and sat on the bed. Distantly, she heard the sound of running water as Yvonne turned on the shower. She looked around her. This was her life now. She’d packed her bags and left her old life behind overnight. But she’d had very little to leave behind in the first place.
And it was all because of him, her last client. Because of him, Ruby had lost everything. She had no friends, having drifted apart from them all while trapped in a toxic relationship. She hadn’t spoken to her family in a long time either. She still had some loose ends to deal with, like her apartment and all her things, but that was all.
Her old life was well and truly behind her. He was well and truly behind her. She had all Yvonne’s money at her disposal. She had all the spare time she could possibly want. She had the opportunity to repair all the damage he’d done, to rebuild her life again.
The only problem was, she had no idea how to do that.
Yvonne rode the elevator up to the Mistress Media offices. As usual, she was one of the first people there. Soon, the sprawling top floor office would be swarming with activity.
Mistress Media was the vision of Madison Sloane, the company’s CEO and Yvonne’s closest friend. Madison had started Mistress years ago, and in the space of less than a decade,
