Charming: A Cinderella Billionaire Story

by Sophie Brooks

  He’d done all that? The manual, the procedures? Probably the safety measures for the employees, too. This whole thing was such a shock that I couldn’t figure out what to ask next. “But why did you—” But then I paused. He was management. The company owner. And I’d known all along that the company recorded the phone calls. But they’d always made it sound like they were only spot-checking for “quality purposes.” Still, I guess that meant he’d had the right to listen to my calls. But it still didn’t explain why.

  Ford sighed as he studied me. “Your face is an open book, Autumn. You’re trying to figure out if I did something wrong by listening in on your calls. And the answer is yes—but I swear to god, it didn’t start that way.”

  He picked up his coffee but didn’t drink it. “In the last few years, I’ve only checked in with Sultry Sirens every so often. The management staff is solid, the procedures are in place, and it doesn’t take much input from me. Still, I go there once a month, check the records, speak with the manager, and generally kept abreast of what’s going on. A couple of months ago, I was at the headquarters when the manager told me something that caught my attention. She said that a new employee had had an hour-long phone call with a new client but then asked for the customer be refunded his money. The manager was surprised because the young woman had offered to have her pay docked—or to pay for the phone call herself—rather than have the charges remain on the customer’s credit card. Is any of this sounding familiar?” Ford asked, his eyebrow raised.

  I nodded, and he continued. “The manager had approved the reversal of charges because the new employee, a bright young woman with a voice like spun honey, was already establishing herself as a model employee with a great deal of potential. I trusted my manager’s judgement, but I was curious about why the employee felt that the customer shouldn’t be charged. So I got the audio file, and I listened to that call. And I heard you—talking to Gus.”

  Gus. Now that was a client I was never going to forget. I’d only been fielding calls for about a week when he called. At first, he seemed like any other client. Horny. Eager. So I launched into a standard fantasy, but it soon became clear that Gus was troubled. He seemed almost frantic to come, talking quickly, encouraging me to get to the end of the fantasy I was describing. But then he seemed to lose interest in the scenario. He grew quiet, and I did my best to draw him out. It turned out that he needed someone to talk to more than he needed release. He told me about his wife had left him and he hadn’t seen his daughter in six months. He told me how he’d lost his job and would soon lose his apartment. I was a poor substitute for a qualified therapist, but I listened and I did my best to help him. Gus seemed like he’d been in a slightly better place when we ended the phone call. I hoped he was okay.

  “I listened to that phone call and I was in awe of you, Autumn. At the beginning of the call, he sounded like your average asshole looking to get off as quickly as possible. But you saw beyond that. You saw the danger signs in the way he was in such a rush. And you got him to calm down. You got him to talk about what was really bothering him. I’d never heard anyone that patient. That caring. You were amazing with him, especially when you looked up that hotline he could call to talk to a counselor. And then offering to pay his Sultry Sirens bill yourself. You truly helped him that day.”

  “I’ve always wondered what happened with him.”

  “He’s okay. Jason keeps tabs on him—his social media posts and so on. He seems to be in a better place now. And he still meets once a week with the counselor we sent over to his place.”

  “Wait—you sent someone there?”

  “Yes, after I heard that recording, I arranged for a wellness check.”

  For a moment, my overwhelming relief drowned out everything else. I hadn’t realized how much that encounter with Gus had weighed on my mind until I heard that he was doing all right. Ford had made sure of that. “Thank you. For doing that. I can’t imagine most companies would do that kind of thing.”

  Ford shook his head. “You don’t see it, do you? You’re the one who did something unusual. Something admirable. Instead of giving him the quick release he was looking for, you got him to open up. You were the one who helped him, Autumn. I just did a little follow-up.”

  I squirmed in my seat. The entire time I’d worked for Sultry Sirens, I’d been worried that people would find out and judge me for it. But Ford admired me for it—or at least how I handled that phone call with Gus. “I—I always wondered. From your very first phone call. About why you liked me. You said it was my voice, but that always seemed like a superficial reason to me. None of us get to choose what kind of voice we get. So I always felt that the main reason you liked me was just luck of the draw.”

  Ford’s eyes were sharp on mine. “Now you know differently. I couldn’t get you out of my mind after hearing that phone call. Your incredibly sexy voice, yes. But mostly you. Our actions define us, and yours showed what an amazing person you are. It was about a week after that that I first called Sultry Sirens as a customer and made sure I got your line.”

  Wow. So he’d already known about me before I ever heard his voice. And as my employer, he’d known my real name. My age. Everything from my employment application. It was a strange feeling when I’d known so little about him. A sudden thought hit me like a stomach punch. Did he know about my dad? It wasn’t in my employment file, but Ford’s money must open all kinds of doors. “Umm… you followed up on Gus. What about me? Did you… check up on me?”

  Ford grimaced. “You’re wondering exactly how much I invaded your privacy. And you may not believe it, but as little as possible. Jason ran a background check just to make sure the woman I was obsessing over wasn’t an axe murderer, but I didn’t let him tell me anything beyond what was in your employment file. Oh, except this.” He pulled out his phone, flipped through it, and showed it to me. It was a picture of me smiling into the camera. It took me a minute to place the photo. It had been taken at a party last year at Mrs. Hagen’s house for the cast of the first play Cara had been in. A bunch of pictures had been taken, and apparently some had been posted online.

  “I had that picture out every time I spoke to you,” Ford said.

  This was a lot to take in. “So… that explains how I first came to your attention. But not why you were listening in on other calls.”

  “Yeah. I thought you might bring that up. Unfortunately, this is the part where I start to come across as less of a concerned business owner and more of a…”

  “A creep? A stalker? An asshole?”

  “I was going to say ‘a dick’ but yeah, all of the above.” He reached across the table and touched my hand. For a moment I froze, debating with myself, but then I linked fingers with him. “I think you can probably guess what happened. The more I talked to you, the more I liked getting to know you. Spending my evenings with your sexy voice in my ear. But it was more than that. It was your sense of humor. Your insights. The way you called me out on my bullshit. Your timid but charming attempts to flirt when you were being yourself, not playing a role. You were occupying more and more of my thoughts—in both a good and bad way. Good because I enjoyed talking to you so much. And bad because I started to get jealous when you talked to other men.”

  “But that was my job,” I said with a gasp. “That’s what the company you own does.”

  “I know,” he said. “Trust me, I’m well aware. But I was thinking about you so much at that point, and you know how I always asked you what roles you’d played recently? I didn’t get quite as frenzied when you reported being a naughty nurse or a horny cheerleader, but when you said you’d been a submissive, I’d wonder obsessively what your customer made you do. Made you say. If he was treating you with respect. If he was turning you on. It just… ate at me. So sometimes I’d ask for the recordings on the nights when you said you’d been submissive.”

  “That’s—that’s pretty messed up,” I said.

  “Agreed.”

  “And very hypocrit
ical. You own a fantasy hotline company. That’s what the business does.”

  “I know. But—not that this is an excuse—it was new territory for me. To meet a woman and think about her constantly. To want to spend time talking to her instead of just thinking of ways I could get her in bed. I wasn’t used to being excited about someone. To care about someone. If it makes you feel any better, I wouldn’t have had a problem with any of my ex-girlfriends talking to other men on the phone. Just you.”

  “I’m not sure that makes me feel better.”

  “I said ‘if,’” he said, and for some reason, that made me laugh. Ford grinned and slid out of the booth, pulling me up with him. And then his hand was in my hair, and his arm around my waist, and I melted into his embrace. I couldn’t stay mad at him. I didn’t want to stay mad at him. He was right. What he’d done was bad, but not as bad as I’d initially feared.

  So I forgave him, and returned his kiss. It felt right to be in his arms. It felt right to forgive him. But in the back of my mind, I wondered about my secret, and if he’d feel the same way when I told him about it.

  32

  Autumn

  “It all looks so good.”

  It was late in the day, so we were the only ones in the small theater at the high school. Cara was showing me the sets they’d been building for her play.

  Spontaneously, I hugged her. “All of these things, the sets, the props, the costumes… this is all because of the play you wrote. This all came from your imagination. I’m so proud of you.”

  Cara flushed, a huge smile on her face. “Thank you. It’s an amazing feeling. Maybe now that you’re not working nights, you could get involved in some community theater.”

  “Maybe,” I said. This past week, my nights had involved spending a lot of time with Ford. He’d come over for dinner twice and taken us out for a movie. He and I weren’t quite back to where we had been before I found out about his owning Sultry Sirens, but we were getting there. This Friday was going to be a big test. I’d be going out with him without the benefit of my kid sister as a chaperone. And it wasn’t just any date—we were going to a ball.

  As if reading my mind, Cara pulled me toward the costume room. “I still can’t believe that I’m writing a play about Cinderella, and you’re the one attending the ball. You have to make notes on everything, okay?”

  “It’s not like the royal family’s going to be there, Cara. It’s a charity ball.”

  “Notes on Every. Single. Thing,” she said sternly. But then she was back to her bubbly self as she led me over to the long dresses. “Mrs. Hagen said you could borrow anything you’d like. Except my dress for the final scene of the play. And that’s mostly because it’s not made yet. Mostly.”

  I grinned. She’d been talking about her ball gown for the final scene—the one where she made her big speech—almost as much as she’d been talking about Ford taking me to a ball.

  Thirty minutes later, we’d narrowed it down to two evening dresses. Unable to decide, Cara had taken pictures of me in the red one and the blue one and sent them to a few of her friends to let social media decide. The final consensus, by a vote of five to two, was the pale blue dress. I truly hadn’t been able to decide, but nevertheless, I was relieved by the choice. I guess I’d unconsciously known that the blue went better with my blonde hair and blue eyes than the red.

  And it was a gorgeous gown. The bodice was tight except for the scooped neckline. It was held up by jeweled straps at my shoulders that left my arms completely bare. The skirt was the part I liked best, though. It flared out from the waist with layers of chiffon. When I moved, it swirled around my legs. I had to stand on my tiptoes to keep from tripping over it, but before Saturday, I’d find some silver high heeled sandals to wear with it.

  “You’re going to be the belle of the ball,” Cara said.

  “Again, not that kind of ball,” I said, but I laughed anyway. She was so genuinely happy that Ford and I were back together. That made two of us. Or, actually, three of us—I hoped.

  That last thought was confirmed when Ford came to our door on Saturday night. He was wearing a black tuxedo and looked so damn handsome that I nearly had an orgasm on the spot. His hair was slicked back but still a little wavy and tousled. He’d shaved, but there was still a hint of sexy five o’clock shadow. And my god did he fill out that tux. I was half tempted to ask him never to wear anything else—unless, of course, he was wearing nothing else. That would work for me, too.

  He’d brought flowers and a corsage. I asked Cara to take care of the flowers, and the minute she stepped out of the room, I moved to Ford, sighing with pleasure when his arms went around me.

  “You’re a vision on that dress, Autumn. Absolutely stunning.” He dipped his head and kissed me.

  I kissed him back, being mindful not to mess up his hair too much as I clung to him. “You clean up pretty well yourself,” I said in what was quite possibly the understatement of the decade.

  By the time Cara returned, Ford was pinning the corsage on my dress, and I’d wiped off the lipstick I’d gotten on his face. My sister was carrying a long white box. More flowers? But that didn’t make any sense.

  She was beaming when she placed the box in my hands. “For you,” she said with a mega-watt smile.

  Carefully, I lifted the lid of the white cardboard. Inside were a pair of silky white elbow-length gloves. “These are gorgeous. Where did you get these?” I marveled as I slid the first one on.

  “Remember the day before yesterday when I went over to Janie’s house after school? Her mom took us to the mall so we could look for them.”

  “They’re beautiful,” I said, pulling on the second one.

  “They look great with the dress,” Ford said.

  “I’m so glad you like them.”

  “That was really nice of you. And Janie’s mom, too.”

  “Oh! I almost forgot. They invited me to stay Tuesday night. A slumber party for Janie’s birthday.”

  “On a school night?” That didn’t seem like a good idea.

  “Yes, but it’s her sweet sixteen. They’re going to a movie on Tuesday night and then out for breakfast early Wednesday morning before school. I told them all about that crepe restaurant we went to in Chicago, and they know of a place like that around here. Please, Autumn? We won’t be late for school, I promise.”

  “All right,” I said, relenting. Janie and her family had been very good to Cara. And then a thought occurred to me. That meant Cara would be gone all night. I swung my head around and met Ford’s gaze. The intense look in his eyes showed me that he was thinking the same thing I was. I’d never spent an entire night alone with him, but I was dying to.

  Cara was even more cheerful now. “You two look amazing. So classy.” She whipped out her camera and took some pictures. “Like a million bucks.”

  “Or at least ten thousand bucks,” Ford said, and I raised an eyebrow at him. “There’s a dinner tonight before the ball, and it’s five thousand dollars a plate. All the proceeds go to charity.”

  Five thousand dollars? Each? Suddenly I felt shaky.

  “I go every year,” Ford continued. “It’s for a good cause. Most of my board will be there, and you have to meet Garrett. My mother will probably be there too—I’m sure she’d love to meet you.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said faintly and hurried to the bathroom, hearing Ford and Cara chat as I left.

  Once there, I looked in the mirror and tried to calm my breathing. I’d been stupid to think that this was just a normal date night. I’d be meeting his mother? His colleagues? His mentor? I wasn’t ready for that. I was wearing a dress borrowed from a high school theater department, for god’s sake. True, it was a beautiful gown, but still, this whole evening felt out of my league. I’d barely graduated high school. The cost of two tickets for tonight’s event was nearly half of what I’d made last year.

  I forced myself to do some breathing exercises I used to do before performances in high school. Calming m
y breath helped calm my mind—usually. I’d get through this. The important thing to remember was that Ford wanted me there. Ford liked me. And now I knew that it wasn’t just because of my voice. He’d admired me before he ever even spoke to me. It meant something that a man like him liked me. So maybe I should start liking me as well. And hold my head up high as I met his colleagues tonight. I could do that. I was an actress. And maybe if I played the part well enough, it would start to feel like it wasn’t just a role. Like it was real.

  I’d do my best to make it real.

  Ford had brought a limo. I nearly rolled my eyes when I saw it—it seemed liked such an over-the-top thing to do. But that was how Ford was. I should know that by now. Jason was the driver, to my relief. I would have felt self-conscious having the door held by a uniformed chauffeur.

  Getting the skirt of my dress into the car without catching it on anything was a challenge, but once inside, I leaned against Ford, enjoying the feel of his arm around my shoulders. He kissed the top of my head and said, “So, it looks like you’re going to be alone on Tuesday.”

  I smiled up at him. “I’d bet good money that I’m not going to be.”

  He laughed. “I meant, no kid sister. Not that she’s not great, but it’s just that—”

  Now it was my turn to laugh. “I know what you mean. I want to be alone with you, too.”

  “Good. Why don’t you come to my place then. I’d love to wake up next to you—assuming that I let you get any sleep the night before.” He winked.

  “Your place?” He’d never invited me there before.

  He seemed to read my mind. “I’ve been to your old apartment and your new one, so it’s high time you visited my penthouse.”

  “Penthouse?” But I supposed it made sense that a man who dropped ten thousand dollars on an evening out lived in a penthouse.