Free A Life for a Life by Eliza DeGaulle Page A

clerk? You? Is your modeling career not paying you well enough? The fools."
    Blood rushed to my cheeks. "Oh, no, I'm not a model."
    "Should try it, sweets. You'd be wonderful at it. You have the face of a queen, and should be on magazines." He grabbed one of the magazines off to the side. It was a porno mag. "I mean, you're certainly hotter than her." He flipped open the pages. "I'm also sure you can please a man far better than her." He laughed lowly. I did the same.
    "I thank you for the flattery, but I never saw myself as something like that. I went to college and am just waiting for my golden opportunity to present itself. I don't intend to let my business degree waste away."
    "So you have brains to go with your beauty." His smile was as charming as his words. Genuine. His eyes never left mine. I found myself thinking things about him. Sure, he had some years on me, but goddamn he looked like he was in shape. He reached across the counter and took my hand into his. "So, Rena, would you mind accompanying me for the night? I could use a drink, and a drink is always better with company. Especially company as good as you."
    I giggled more. He was made of money. He was sexy. This couldn't really be happening. Not with my terrible luck. "I'd love to, but I still have five hours left on my shift."
    "Damn your shift. This place is being knocked over in a week. I'm your boss now, and I order you to go have a drink with me."
    "If you say so, sir." I locked the register and threw the keys down, taking off my name-tag. Adrenaline pumped, I couldn't believe this was happening. Was I about to enjoy a Cinderella story? Fall in love with a billionaire, never know want again? Live happily ever after?
    Lester tossed his hand over my shoulder and brought me closer to him. His hands eeked toward my breasts. He wanted me, that's for sure.
    I rolled with it. If I accept luck turning in my favor, who knows what could happen?
     
     
     
    ***
     
     
     
    I had a marvelous diamond on my finger. A shimmering blue gown. Hair done by the most fabulous hair dressers in the world. In the mirror, though, was pure, raw depression.
    "Rita, let's go over these opportunities again." Lester's voice had gotten raspier with all the cigar smoking he did. He thought it made him look like a big wig, like the billionaire fat cat he fashioned himself as. Fat was certainly an adjective that fit now.
    "Certainly, sir." On the other end of the speaker phone was a young woman. I suspected if he had said the same things to her as he did to me. "Three places the bank says they can foreclose on if we're willing to pay off the debts to them. They are all big enough to hold an Allmart building with sufficient parking."
    "Fire away. The stockholders are calling for bigger dividends, and we have to keep them happy."  Through their conversation, I sat down and continued to put on my makeup, listening in. I liked to keep a pulse on what his company was doing. It was curiosity more than anything else. He'd never take my opinion for anything, no matter how much bullshit he fed me about him marrying me for my business driven mind.
    "Sir, I don't know if it's really the best solution just to build more stores. Market research says we're reaching a saturation level and - "
    "Whatever, babe, spill it." Lester? Also a huge misogynist. He talked to all of his female employees like this.
    "Site one is currently a children's hospital. Publicly funded currently, but with it's debt the councilman can be bought to pass a bill privatizing it, and then we can buy it up. If we were to build an Allmart in its place, the company would increase its local income by 1.1% according to our research." Her voice was glum, just reading her notes, not one ounce of enthusiasm.
    "Do it, tiny tits. Set it in motion." They had to endure it, of course. He'd fire them in a second and had an armada of lawyers to destroy any sexual harassment lawsuit brought against him.
    "Sir, I - "
    "Next." I truly felt for