Free Fighting Seduction by Claire Adams

dress was simply not
in my budget. Whatever I bought was not going to be good enough for this event,
as proven by the immaculate garment I was now holding in my hand. Maybe he
should have just taken someone who he knew could afford to dress in a way that
suits him. I felt a little bitter again, but then thought of the last few hours
of anxiety over my wardrobe and tried to accept this, be grateful. And I could
always return it to him after the event! Maybe that would be tacky. It was
either return it now and never wear it, or just take his gift and deal with it.
    “There is more,” Nick said, watching me gaze into
space.
    “More what?”
    “Jewelry and a note.”
    I grunted. I grabbed the note from Nick’s reluctant
hands:

 
    Dear
Aria,
    I
could care less if you showed up in torn jeans. Or better yet, nothing at all.
But the spy I have recruited at your quarters alerted me of trouble you were
having deciding on attire. So I had to step in. Don’t feel pressured to wear it
though. I don’t know much about women’s fashion, just thought this would nicely
contour your perfect figure.
    See
you at eight!
    -Zayden

 
    “Stacey!” we both screamed at the same time. She was
supposed to be sleeping but if she had the energy to discuss my clothing with
Zayden, she had the energy to explain it to me. She walked out of her room
looking rather sick. I knew she was only trying to help me because that’s what
best friends do, but I wasn’t going to let her go without a hard time, because
that is also what best friends do.
    “Oh wow, what a beautiful dress!” she exclaimed,
looking at me. “You went shopping without me?”
    So innocent. She should join the CIA.
    “I know what you did.” I gave her a sharp look.
    “Yes, we know, Stace !”
Nick was giving her the exact same look.
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said
to me and then looked at Nick and added, “And why do you look bothered?”
    Nick looked like he considered it for a second and
frowned. “I’m not really sure. It seemed like the right thing to do.”
    Stacey laughed. “You’re ridiculous. Can you make me
some tea?”
    Nick was off to do his bidding and I was left to
confront Stacey. I opened my mouth to begin a long-winded lecture but ended up
bursting into a fit of laughter. Stacey joined me and after about five minutes
of this, I was finally able to speak again.
    “How did you even do it, Stace ?
Did you just randomly dial his number and go ‘hey, guess what, I have the flu
and Aria doesn’t have a dress?’”
    She bit her lip. “Email. We are on emailing basis.”
    “How?”
    “His email is on the company’s website.”
    I sighed. “Why are you doing this?”
    “Because I love you, you idiot,” she said, looking
at me like I was crazy. “In my defense, he wasn’t supposed to rat me out. Tell
your boyfriend he owes me one.”
    “He’s not my boyfriend, you know that,” I sounded
way too disappointed saying those words for my own liking so I cleared my throat
and added with a firmer tone, “He’s just some playboy who is too used to
getting what he wants and thinks all of this is a game.”
    I wasn’t sure I believed my own words by this point.
He was a playboy and this was a game; there was no doubt about it and he made
no efforts to hide it. But somehow along the way, I had come to believe that he
was actually a decent person. I couldn’t admit this to Stacey, though. I
couldn’t even admit it to myself really. The better I thought of him, the more
likely it became that I would get hurt when all of this was over, and I could
not consciously do that to myself.
    “A playboy who is playing games and for some
mysterious reason makes you happy,” Stacy said after a few minutes, as though
considering how wise it was to communicate that with me.
    “What do you mean?” I raised my eyebrows.
    “You are happy.”
    “I am not any more or any less happier than I was
before this contract.”
    At least, I didn’t