Sugar Baby Lies

by C. S. Janey

  She shrugged.

  “I was just going to take them out for pizza and to the carnival that just began last night,” Amanda offered. “That is, if I can get them off the couch.”

  “We love carnivals. We always go to the one by us every year, don’t we baby?”

  “Ugh,” Annalina said, making a disgusted face. “I’m not a baby!”

  “You’re my baby.”

  She rolled her eyes before pulling away and flouncing away to join the other teenagers on the couch. I smiled as she chose to sit next to Emily and not Landon. I preferred that she didn’t show any interest in boys for a long time and so far, so good.

  “Let me go get the car,” Bradley murmured, then looked over at Amanda. “Thanks for doing this.” Then he leaned down and kissed my cheek before heading out the door.

  His display of affection in front of his friend surprised me, along with Amanda, whose eyes widened. When the door shut behind him, I found myself being pulled out of earshot of the children.

  “What is going on?”

  I frowned, unsure of what she meant. “What do you mean?”

  “Why are you marrying him?”

  I wasn’t sure what to make of her question. She looked concerned, which only made me even more curious over the look I’d seen on Bradley’s face a few times already in the past twenty-four hours.

  “He asked me and I said yes.”

  “Yes,” she said with a heavy sigh. “I gathered that. But why did you say yes? Do you know what you’re doing?”

  I tilted my head to the side, pursing my lips as I tried to see where she was going with this. She rushed on.

  “Bradley hasn’t been with anyone in a very long time. All the sudden, he’s asking Roger if I would be willing to watch his date’s daughter during the dinner. Only now you’re not only his date, but his fiancee!”

  Oh, I see. I thought. He really had told them nothing.

  “Well, having been friends with him for such a long time, you know that me saying anything would not be something he approved of. But I will say I have spent plenty of time with him over the past two years.”

  Now she studied me. “How old are you?”

  I stiffened. “I’m thirty. How old are you?”

  She smiled, her voice going soft. “I’m forty. Look, I’m not trying to upset you, but…can you still have children?”

  “Yes,” I answered, frowning at the intrusive question even as I answered it. “Although Bradley and I have never discussed it.”

  The only time he’d ever mentioned birth control had been before we’d begun our arrangement. It had been mandatory and at the time, I certainly hadn’t argued. I’d been on it since my daughter’s birth.

  As my phone went off, I checked it to find a text from Bradley letting me know he was out front. I looked back up at Amanda, who said nothing to my response and now simply stood there, frowning.

  “Look, I don’t know why you’re asking me all these questions, but I’m a grown woman. I know what I’m doing and I know what he is like. I won’t tell him you questioned me like this. Just take care of my daughter, okay?”

  Her mouth curved upward as her eyes softened. “I will. And,” she said as I started to walk off, “for the record, I think you will be very good for him.”

  I didn’t reply, hugging my daughter goodbye before heading down to the car.

  As I climbed in and Bradley smiled at me, his hand covering mine as he pulled away from the curb, the subtle warning in Amanda’s questioning had me wondering what exactly I was missing.

  And what Bradley wasn’t telling me.

  Chapter Six

  First Time We Met In Person

  The maitre d’ looked down his snobby nose at me. “May I help you?”

  I looked around nervously, the shiny and sparkling interior of the restaurant making me nervous. I knew my dress was outdated by many years and I looked shabby compared to the people dining inside.

  “Ah…” I licked my lips and he sighed as if he were bored. “Um, Mister Bradley Blackwell. I’m having dinner with him. My name is Lucy…er, Lucille.”

  The man’s eyebrows rose as if he didn’t believe me. “One moment, let me go see if he is here.”

  Yep, he definitely didn’t believe me. So, I stood there awkwardly, people eyeing me as they walked by while I waited. If he’d wanted to embarrass me, he’d certainly achieved it.

  Why had I come here again?

  The man returned, the scowl on his face replaced by a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Follow me.”

  As we approached the table, I smiled as Bradley stood up.

  He looked just like his picture. He hadn’t put any up on the site, but after a few email exchanges and phone calls, had sent me a few. Due to his profession, his privacy was of utmost importance.

  I hadn’t realized how tall six-three was until I stood next to him. Even at five-eight, I still felt really small next to him. He nodded at the maitre d’ and pulled out my chair.

  “Thank you,” I said softly as I sat.

  He sat to my right and a waiter instantly approached.

  “What would you like to drink Lucy?” Bradley’s voice was soft and deep, just as rich as it sounded on the telephone.

  “Just water, please.”

  The waited walked off and I realized Bradley already had a drink — a brandy — which I would quickly come to know as his drink of choice.

  “Are you nervous?” He gave a pointed glance at my hands, which were twisting the napkin, then smiled. “Don’t be nervous. I don’t bite.”

  I returned his smile with one of my own as the waiter returned with my water. We ordered food and then, we were all alone. Well, as alone as two people could be in a restaurant full of other diners.

  “Did you have a nice trip?”

  He held his glass in one hand, taking a drink as I watched him. When he swallowed, I stared at his neck, which was bared, his shirt unbuttoned a little as if he’d come straight here from work. Which he probably had since he said he worked a lot.

  “Uh…yes, I did. Thank you.”

  “Are you going to thank me repeatedly this evening?” He smiled, letting me know he was teasing, but my face heated anyway. “Ah, come on now. Don’t be shy. Be just like you were on the phone. You’re very charming.”

  His words made me blush even more. “Well…,” I said. “First class was interesting. I’d never flown that way before.”

  I felt like an idiot talking about the flight, but it was all I could think to say.

  He looked down at my dress before coming back to my eyes. “I thought you might like it.”

  Of course, he’d paid for the entire trip. I could never afford to fly first class; hell, I’d only ever flown once before in my life and that had been when I was just a teenager. I had a feeling this glimpse of his world was only just the beginning.

  “Yes, I did. Thank—“ I cut off and he chuckled.

  “You are adorable, Lucy.” His face sobered as I stared at him, enchanted with his laugh. “Do you like what you see?”

  My mouth went dry. Of course I did. He was an incredibly handsome man and he found me attractive. I nodded.

  “Good,” he said with a grin. “Do you want to do what we talked about?”

  He was referring to the ‘job’ he’d offered me. On paper, it would be as his personal assistant. In reality, I’d be his companion, visiting him once a month to spend time with him — doing things such as going out to dinner, to the movies, or whatever else he wanted to do. It would be Friday afternoon to Sunday morning. He wanted the dating experience without the emotions.

  No falling in love, that had been his rule number one.

  Sex had only been spoken of once — but he’d made it clear that he wasn’t paying me for sex. If it happened, then it did but that wasn’t what the money was for. The money was for my time.

  Then he’d named a figure and my mouth had dropped open, even though we’d been on the phone and he couldn’t see
me.

  “But, I won’t even be spending even forty-eight hours with you! That’s too much,” I’d declared. “Plus you’d be paying for my flights.”

  “Lucy, second rule is to never argue with me. If you accept, that’s the amount; I won’t hear it about it after that. Got it?”

  So there I sat and now he wanted to know if I accepted everything. Accepted the position as his companion, with the amount he’d specified plus anything extra he decided to give me. And once I said yes, all it would take was one ‘no’ to end it.

  His grey eyes never left mine, waiting for an answer. He seemed so relaxed though; not at all tied up like I was on the inside. The money would be so helpful. Really, it could change my life. I’d be silly to turn it down, but I didn’t know how long it would last. He could change his mind at any time and I’d have to go back to my dreary existence of fast food work that left me drained at the end of the night, and wouldn’t ever go any further unless I could get my education.

  I smiled at him and nodded, saying the words that would change my life in more ways than I could know in that moment.

  “Yes, I accept.”

  It was official - I was a sugar baby.

  And after dinner, he took me back to his place so we could work out the other things, such as a key so I could prepare for his arrival home if I were to arrive when he wasn’t there and where everything was located.

  Then, we watched a movie before he showed me to the guest room after telling me we would take things slow.

  Not once did he touch me and that was rule three.

  I was never to touch him unless he touched me first.

  Then he’d leaned in and kissed my forehead before leaving me to go to his room.

  Leaving me alone to wonder if I’d just made the best or worst decision of my life.

  The fact I didn’t know the answer worried me most of all.

  Chapter Seven

  The charity dinner had me feeling out of place.

  It was more of an internal feeling though. Nobody made me feel unwelcome and it was clear that everyone loved Bradley. My dress was just as lovely as other women’s and the men all wore tuxedos. I had no reason to feel the way I did, yet I was still very uneasy.

  Bradley, however, stuck to his word. He kept his hand on my lower back the whole evening as we mingled, the contact making me wish we could just go back to his place and get naked. I think he got the biggest thrill out of introducing me as his fiancee and watching people’s face fill with confusion at the same time they congratulated us. I had no doubt that this was the first they’d ever heard of him having a personal life, let alone a relationship.

  When it came time to sit down and eat, that’s when I met Roger and his secretary. Roger was an inch or two shorter than Bradley’s six-three and skinnier, with medium-red hair and what could only be described as laughing blue eyes; his secretary around my height and cheerful with short black hair in a bob and big, brown eyes. Together they made quite a pair.

  Bradley and Roger hugged — shocking the shit out of me, personally — and pat each other on the back before stepping apart.

  It was then Bradley introduced me, a sly grin on his face. “Roger, I’d like you to meet Lucy. My fiancee as of roughly two hours ago.”

  Roger’s eyes widened, but only for a second before he grinned. “Hey, congratulations man. And nice to meet you Lucy. You’ve got a good man here.” He held out a hand, and after I slid mine into his, he brought my hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “I trust you’ll take care of him, yeah?”

  I laughed, giving him my first genuine smile of the evening, removing my hand from his. “As well as your wife takes care of you, I imagine.”

  “Indeed.” Roger looks from me to the woman at his side. “This is my secretary, Hazel. I don’t know what I’d do without her, seeing I can’t get my wife to join me at these events. I’d marry Hazel if I didn’t adore my wife to death.”

  Hazel rolled her eyes at him, chuckling as she shook my hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Lucy. Do yourself a favor — don’t believe anything Roger says, I don’t.” She winked at me as Roger feigned shock and we all laughed before sitting down at the table.

  Dinner was tasty and soon after, we were doing the rounds once more, meeting even more people.

  The amount of smiling I did left my mouth sore as the end of the evening approached.

  Excusing myself to visit the restroom, I was just about to leave the stall when I heard a group of women laughing. I paused when I heard Bradley’s name.

  “Did you see Doctor Blackwell? He is so fucking good looking. Who was the woman on his arm?”

  “A nobody, obviously.”

  I raised my eyebrow at that, but wanted to see where they were going with this.

  They all laughed at her reply and the original woman spoke again. “Well, she was being introduced as his fiancee. I didn’t even know he had a girlfriend!”

  “Why did you ask who she was if you knew? I thought she was pretty.” This was a new voice and she spoke softly. “He seems very taken with her.”

  By now I gathered there were only three of them. The one who called me a nobody answered with a titter. “Please. He kept his hand on her back but otherwise, they didn’t touch. Nobody touches Dr. Blackwell, we all know that. And apparently, neither does his fiancee. I think it’s a big lie. Maybe he’s hiding the fact he’s gay.”

  They all burst into laughter and at that point, I began to get angry. I had no idea who these women were, but they had no right to speak of Bradley that way.

  “What makes you think he’s gay, Priscilla?” The first one asked before laughing again.

  “I’ve been working with him for ten years. He works all the time and barely takes any days off. And he certainly never talks about a girlfriend. When would the man find the time?”

  “Maybe he’s just private,” the soft-spoken one pointed out. “He has never seemed the type to really talk much about his personal life at work.”

  Yes, thank you! I yelled to the girl in my head. She didn’t fit in with this group, so she would escape my wrath. I did wish she’d tell them to shut up, however.

  “Oh, whatever Jill,” Priscilla said. I pictured her rolling her eyes similar to how my daughter did when she was exasperated or being dismissive. “You’re just the receptionist. What would you know about anything? I work closely with him.”

  Keep talking, Priscilla, I encouraged silently. You’re just digging yourself a hole here.

  I really wasn’t one to get involved with other people’s business, but Bradley was a good man. He wouldn’t like knowing someone who worked with him was talking shit behind his back.

  I also knew when I opened the door, I only had a few seconds to gather details on what the three women looked like to give Bradley later when he would ask me for the information.

  I opened the door and knew at once who the nicest girl was. Jill’s eyes widened, her face going scarlet as her eyes dropped to stare at the floor. Swinging to the two blondes, the one I pegged as Priscilla without even seeing her first spoke and proved me correct.

  “Oh look, it’s the nobody. Eavesdropping, were you?” She sneered at me, her whole demeanor dismissive as her gaze flicked down my body and back up to meet my eyes. “Lucy, right?”

  The other girl, the only one I hadn’t heard the name of, looked away as I glanced over at her. But since she backed away and seemed to be as embarrassed as Jill, I focused on Priscilla.

  “Why do you care what my name is? I’m just a nobody, remember?” I smiled, my face friendly even as the words I spoke next were not. “A nobody who happens to be engaged to the man you apparently work for and just insulted, that is. It appears to me that you don’t really value your job, if you’d talk about your boss or co-worker like that.”

  Her face paled at the implied threat as the other two girls looked about ready to cry.

  I said nothing else, walking over to the sink farthest from them and washing my hand
s quickly.

  As I walked out, I heard the nameless one start cussing out Priscilla and smiled.

  ~*~

  We left the party soon after I returned to Bradley’s side, saying nothing of the restroom incident. I was quiet during the ride home but he seemed pretty lost in thought himself.

  Amanda and her children left pretty quickly once we arrived, right after informing me how charming Anna was and remarked that she looked forward to getting to know us. Soon after, Anna headed to bed and I was alone with Bradley.

  Pouring the usual drink, he then sat on the bed and patted the space next to him. I moved quickly to sit and he placed his hand on my leg as I did so, holding my gaze with his as he drank.

  “Is there something on your mind?” He finally said, placing the glass on the nightstand before turning his body towards mine, keeping his hand in place. “You seemed a little agitated near the end of the evening. Did you not enjoy yourself?”

  “Just overheard a rather nasty conversation in the ladies room, that’s all.” I licked my lips and his eyes dropped for just an instant until he brought his eyes back to mine once more. “I don’t really want to get anyone in trouble.”

  I really didn’t. I figured my words to her were enough, but Bradley’s eyes narrowed. “What did they say, Lucy? It obviously upset you, so I want to know.”

  “Well,” I began, hesitant to tell him what they’d said, but I didn’t dare take my eyes off his. “They were talking about the both of us. One woman called me a nobody.”

  His mouth fell into a grim line. “And me?”

  “Um…” I took a deep breath. “The same one said she thought you were gay. That she worked with you and you hardly took time off so how could you possibly find the time to date? And…that our engagement was probably just a big lie to cover up the fact you were probably gay.”

  I expected a lot of things at that point. For him to demand the woman’s name, to demand to know what I said, or to tell me not to worry about it. Instead, Bradley threw his head back and laughed.