Free The Claiming of Sadie Graves by Angela Price

He carries on a great conversation and has deft, realistic opinions. He’s humble. I never would have thought that. And, his face is probably his enemy. I see that now, because his opinions might not carry as much weight because of his beauty. Like a woman! I laugh inwardly at the thought.
    They both pause in conversation and look at me. “Sadie!” Jenny says, “I feel terrible. Here we are, prattling away, and you’ve made this fabulous meal.”
    “I loved doing it, Jenny. I really missed you this week. Even Mr. Alvarez missed you!”  I laugh. She does too. “Mr. Alvarez owns the bodega on the corner, Mr. Sutton. He loves Sadie and me.” Lucas replies, wiping some honey from the side of his mouth, “Who can blame him?” We all chuckle, and I rise to put away breakfast. Lucas laughs at my retreating back, “And Sadie can really cook. This day has been a revelation already!”
    When all the dishes are in the dishwasher and Jenny is ready to take a shower, Lucas asks if I will speak with him privately. There’s really no place besides my room for that, but I offer tentatively. I know that he will not approach me sexually again – th ose moments in the limo were simply a mistake. He nods his head. And so he says goodbye to Jenny and follows me into my room, to talk about something obviously important to him.

Chapter Ten
    You Do Something to Me”
    Paul Weller, Stanley Road

My bedroom is painted the color of the western Caribbean. It’s turquoise on one day, and teal the next. The paint has a magical quality.  It’s a medium-sized room, with a large walk-in closet - one of the reasons we chose this apartment. Both bedrooms have tremendous storage. My bed has a huge brightly-colored bird painting I did as a project in design school over it. It’s mounded with pillows. The headboard is a door from an African cupboard, featuring carvings of women carrying water and working in the fields. I fell in love with it, because it reminded me how far women have come. There’s soft lighting scattered around and a reading lamp over my side of the bed – the left side.
    There aren’t any chairs, and so we sit on the mattress.
    Lucas clears his throat. “Um, listen, Sadie. I behaved badly yesterday. In fact, I’ve behaved badly since the minute I met you. I’d like to start out with asking for your forgiveness?”
    I sit quietly. I have a flashback for just one second of his tongue stroking mine and his hands on me, and my belly flips over lazily. Oy. I have to forget that. I’d better start now.
    “I t’s okay, Lucas. I’m sorry, too. I know you’re not interested in me like that. I forgive you. Now, what do you want to talk to me about?”
    He gets a funny look on his face, but then shifts in a millisecond to looking controlled. And so he begins. “It’s about your line. I know you gave your designs to Anna, and at this point she owns them. I’m going to offer to rep them next week. But I’m only offering if she gives you creative listing, and control of future artistic choices. If she won’t, I’m going to offer you a different position, like we talked about on Thursday night, with my company. I just want you to understand one thing. I believe in your talent, and I trust that you have what it takes to be a household name. That’s what I wanted to discuss with you. Do you understand?”
    I’m not sure I do. I thought we already talked about this.
    “ Are you saying you’re going to promote the lingerie line, but only if Anna recognizes me as the designer? Lucas! She’ll be livid. Her reputation is her most important asset. I don’t want to belittle her like that. She’s given me a chance, given me everything. You can’t seriously think I would betray her?”
    His eyes narrow. “Sadie, listen to me. My job is recognizing and selling talent. And you are a rare find. Let me handle the details, and trust me. I need you to trust me. Say you do?”
    I pause. Trust isn’t my favorite currency.
    “Lucas,