CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Daisy
“What do you mean it’s your last paycheck?” Old Man Dinardo folded his thick arms over his broad chest, his brown eyes concerned.
“I… I have another job now. I’m so sorry, don’t you remember the two-week notice I gave you?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ivan paying attention to our conversation. His tattooed arms were busy flipping burgers, dropping fries into boiling hot oil, chopping salads—he did it all. But I was afraid he’d chop off his fingers or burn himself if he watched us too closely.
“Can we talk in private?”
Old Man Dinardo sighed. “We don’t have to, Daisy. I knew it was coming. I got your recommendation for the new hire, and she’s working out well. Nia’s been training her.”
I smiled with relief. “Oh, good. I just knew she’d be perfect.” I glanced over to where Nia was instructing Carly, a beautiful blonde with wild, curly hair, on how to wipe down tables at the end of the lunch rush.
Carly was a former sorority sister of mine who’d run into equally hard times as I had.
If not worse. I winced inwardly when she turned, and I saw her perfect, tall, California-girl body.
Perfect except for the very visible scars and devastation on one of her legs, from her knee to halfway up her thigh.
She’s been in a horrible car wreck and walked with a slight limp now. She’d lost her volleyball scholarship, her NIL deals, and her ability to pay for college.
I’d talked with Carmen about the possibility of hiring both Carly and Nia, and she’d sent them each an invitation to an upcoming private hiring event at Sugar.
I hoped for my friends’ sakes that she would hire them.
She’d be crazy not to, I thought, and not just because they were friends of mine.
Nia was one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen.
Carly was also gorgeous in a tan, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Malibu girl kind of way.
But Nia had small boobs, and Carly had bad scars. I knew Carmen would have to look beyond her normal hiring practices if she were to hire them.
I grinned and waved at the two of them, before giving Old Man Dinardo a hug, waving at Ivan, and hurrying from the deli.
Carmen had arranged for me to have a shopping trip with Madeline in a few minutes. I jumped in the beautiful, silver Lexus SUV Jack had bought me and pulled into traffic. I was headed to the more exclusive shopping area a couple of blocks away to meet Madeline for lunch.
She was already seated in the restaurant by the time I got there. I grinned at her as I slid into the booth across from her.
“Hey.”
Madeline smiled, her perfect features, flawless makeup, and understated but sophisticated outfit all going in direct opposition to her raunchy stripper persona.
“Hey, girl. Congrats on landing Jack Lancaster,” she said leaning in, her blue eyes sparkling.
“That man is fine as hell.” She thought for a second.
“A little weird and nerdy, maybe, but I hear he can fuck like a goddamn pro.”
My eyes widened, and I looked around. “Madeline,” I hissed. “You can’t talk like that here.” And I didn’t enjoy thinking of all the women he’d been with before me. I knew neither of us were virgins by a long shot, but I didn’t like to think of Jack being a player.
She waved a hand at my concern. “Honey, no one’s listening to us. They might be looking at us, but they’re not listening.”
I looked around, realizing she was right. The restaurant was full of businessmen, almost all of whom were having difficulty keeping their eyes off of us.
I nodded. “Well, looks like you’re right.”
“Yep. Do you know what you want?” she asked as our waitress arrived.
After we’d both ordered, Madeline laid out a plan for me. She told me exactly what we’d be buying, and I just gave her a thumbs up.
She frowned. “You always look nice. Not trashy or anything like Nadine did when she first came to West Bay…”
“Madeline!” I was aghast at her talking about our friend that way.
She shrugged. “She’d be the first to say it,” she said.
She wasn’t wrong. Nadine was a very honest person, and, well, she had looked a bit skanky when she’d first come to town. Beautiful, but skanky. I knew Madeline had worked long and hard to get her up to Carmen’s standards. And now, as the mayor’s wife, she was the first lady of West Bay.
“I just don’t like to shop,” I said calmly, bringing my glass of water to my mouth for a sip.
Madeline’s fork clanked to her plate, making a loud sound in the restaurant. “What the hell? Who doesn’t like to shop?”
I raised my hand and kind of waved it at her. “This girl right here. I like to wear nice things, don’t get me wrong. I just hate going from shop to shop, trying everything on, and all of that. It’s a hassle. If I was rich, the first thing I’d do would be hire a personal shopper.”
“Really?” her tone was doubtful.
“Well, maybe not the first thing I’d do…”
We both laughed and enjoyed the rest of our lunch.
Afterwards, she took me to a boutique where I was fitted and sized.
The owner took down all of my measurements and put a pencil behind her ear.
“Let me grab a few things we have in stock now that I think we could get ready in the next couple of days.”
While she walked to the back, I got nervous. “What if you don’t end up buying everything from her?” I whispered.
Madeline grinned. “I won’t. But I’ll bring it all back here for her to alter. She’s the best in town. Now,” she looked at her watch. “Do you want to trust all of this to me, or do you want to stick around and go to a few more shops?”
I made a face. “Honestly? I’d love to just go home. I completely trust you, Madeline.”
“Okay, well hang out for a couple of minutes, because you need at least one day dress, one evening gown, and one cocktail dress to take home with you today.”
“Why?”
“Because Jack has plans for you soon.”
My heartbeat quickened, and I thought if there was anything that would make me want to stick around and grit my teeth through even more measurements than I’d already put up with, it was the thought that I’d be spending time with Jack soon.
Just the two of us. On a date.
***
Date in Savannah—See Myers and Hannah (set up Myers as potential stalker)
Daisy
Jack kept casting glances my way, and I was working hard not to do the same.
He was so handsome, so gorgeous, so… out of my league.
I couldn’t believe I was actually with him.
When I’d dated Myers and been in a sorority, I’d felt like I was living in disguise.
It was like I’d just been waiting for them all to find out I wasn’t rich like they were.
I was just trying to pretend to be. I hadn’t grown up in a mansion, or even a nice, middle-class home, or attended a fancy private school.
No, I grew up in an apartment over a flower shop in small-town Georgia.
It was a nice, large apartment, but it still wouldn’t have been featured in any home and garden magazine by a long stretch.
We wouldn’t have even been picked for the Crosston Tour of Homes at Christmas.
The girls in my sorority? Some of them lived in homes that had been featured in movies. It had been so intimidating.
I’d been the prettiest girl at my high school, but my high school was small. It had taken me all of five seconds to realize pretty girls were a dime a dozen on West Bay University’s campus. But I must’ve still stood out in some ways.
I had dated Myers, one of the most popular, richest, frat boys on campus.
I’d been named captain of the dance team as a sophomore, before everything fell apart for me.
I’d gotten a job at Sugar as soon as Carmen had seen me.
Literally. I walked through the door to one of her ‘interest meetings’ where, she told me later, she only picks the best, prettiest, hottest, girls to be in the club, and she’d just pulled me aside and asked when I could start.
I hadn’t had to sit through the meeting at all.
Still. Jack Lancaster? He dated models, heiresses, debutantes… women like that. Not a worker from a gentleman’s club who grew up above a flower shop.
I stared in the mirror. In the slinky beaded cocktail dress Madeline had picked out for me, I looked as good as I ever had, but I was still so nervous I felt sick at my stomach.
I couldn’t get the idea of him with Everly Lyles out of my head.
He’d dated her for a couple of weeks the year before.
I knew because it had been the talk of West Bay.
Everly Lyles was the ‘it’ girl of the modeling world and completely, utterly gorgeous.
Jack, who was known to only go out with a woman once before he moved on, had stuck around for two whole weeks before letting her down easy.
If he could walk away from Everly Lyles after two weeks, how was I supposed to keep him interested for three months?
“Oh my God,” I breathed, my hand on my abdomen. “I can’t do this.”
“You can’t do what?”
My eyes shot up and met his in the mirror. He was standing in the door to my room, watching me. He looked… crazy hot. He was wearing a suit and holding something in his hand.
I turned around, leaning on the edge of the beautiful wooden vanity for support. “I…” I swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and was honest. “I’m nervous to go out with you,” I admitted.
He cocked his head and studied me as if I was a specimen under a microscope. “Are you serious?” he finally asked.
I nodded.
“Look at you.” He walked over to me, put his hands on my waist, and gently turned me back around to look in the mirror. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life.” He pulled me against him, my back to his front. “Look at us together. We look… right.”
I looked over my shoulder at him, our faces so close we were inches away from kissing. He was being honest, I realized. He wasn’t just trying to make me feel better.
“Look,” he urged.