Free Southern Charmed Billionaire by Kristin Frasier, Bella Bentley Page A

the envelope, forgetting Claire was watching my every move on the phone.  
    “Well? Open it!” Her voice squealed.  
    I laughed as I shut the door, shaking my head. As much as Claire gave me a headache and made poor boyfriend choices, she was the closest thing I had to a sister, and I loved her anxious, neurotic ways. She was like a quirky kitten: so cute, you just had to watch, but no doubt she would be soon jumping from corner to chair to curtains. It’s what made her a fascinating performer and artist to watch.  
    I tore the side of the envelope open to see the fanciest check ever made out to me, with my name professionally typed in fancy font.  
    Pay the order of Kate Longhouse in the amount of $1,000.  
    “Holy shit, Kate! That’s how much you go paid?”  
    All I could do was nod and feel a thrill of shock and a wave of wonder. I mean, I knew he had set the amount. It just didn’t register then like it did now. I’d never earned that much money in a single day in my life.  
    “And you swear to me you didn’t fuck him?”  
    “I didn’t!”  
    “Look at me, Kate Laura Longhouse!” She demanded through the mobile device.  
    Her face looked at me closely, inspecting me through the screen, zooming in dramatically to her left brown eye. She eyed me so close I could see the dark green that lined her iris, which made me to laugh even more.  
    “You’re telling the truth, I can tell. Okay, if you want my honest opinion, girl, get freaky with him, and fast. You've read Fifty Shades of Gray. You know how horny and freaky billionaires are. Just give him the best blow job of his life, let him put things up your ass and slap you with whips. Hell, get the candle wax out, and I promise you, you'll have your new business up and running and your debt cleared in no time. You’ll see that $1,000 go up in numbers real quick.”  
    I sat in a nearby chair, and for the first time in the sitting room, I failed to notice when I had one thing on my mind last night: the kitchen.  
    My debt cleared in no time. How nice would that be.  
    All that debt.  
    That was the looming pile of bricks that seemed to follow me like a dark rain cloud. It was an unfortunate result of a combination of a bad father and bad boyfriends. One factor I had a choice over, the other I did not. But both had one thing in common: they used me, and they took advantage of me for their own personal gain. I was tired of being used for someone else’s life plan. I promised myself that would never happen again, which was the reason why I hadn’t dated at all in three years since I moved to Charleston to work for Claire’s band. And to be honest, all of the traveling really kept me busy. So did the work and the hustle of being their manager and booking agent. But deep inside my heart at night, I’d dream of the kitchen and concocting my newest creation. And over the years, I came up with a plan to fit not only my new life, but also my newfound lifestyle of healthy living. After ditching locale, I felt so heavy from debt and shame from my family’s past, I lost nearly thirty pounds from a combination of clean eating and regularly working out. I loved the way I felt. I loved the way I looked at food. And I was determined to bring my story to others to not only inspire them to change, but also to bring joy into the healthy living sector.  
    The only thing standing in my way of bringing the dream to fruition, from more action to my plan, was nearly $100,000 in credit card fraud debt, as well as money stolen from me by my ex.  
    But I hadn’t thought about it. I hadn’t thought about it in a very long time like that until Claire brought it up. Thanks, Claire.  
     I shook my head. I couldn't keep obsessing over it. I just had to plan and work hard. Worrying wasn't going to change any of it. But this new job might provide just the right amount of capital to start something small. My wheels were turning.  
    "Okay you little whore, I'm not a tramp