"Ughh," I groaned, pressing on my temple and trying to ease the pounding of my headache. I really hadn't thought it through when I'd decided to get drunk the night before. Not to mention the fact that I hadn't even gotten home until two in the morning and then had to wake up at eight to get ready for my nine-to-five shift. All in all, I felt like crap.

Ariana smirked at me from the other side of the store, where she was currently wiping down tables. I'd volunteered to do it initially, but the smell of bleach made me want to puke.

I glanced at my phone, expecting to see a missed call from Bennett, but there was nothing. Had I scared him away last night? He'd definitely deserved my attitude, but I wondered if I was too harsh.

I snorted. I wasn't even going to entertain that thought for a moment. He totally deserved it. Hopefully, he'd learned something from it. Admittedly, I was still a little worried. What if he didn't want to use me as his pretend girlfriend anymore? That was a lot of money to give up just for a little dignity.

"Any texts from Rich Ben?" Ariana asked, leaning over the counter to look at my phone.

"Surprisingly, no."

"Disappointed?"

"Not really," I said, opening the cash register and straightening out the money. There wasn't much to do today at work. It was rainy and dismal outside and no customers were coming in. I figured they were beelining for the Dunkin's down the street with the drive-thru.

Ariana nodded a few times even though there was nothing to agree to. "When do you go back to work at Michelangelo's?"

I paused, losing count of the ones in my hand. I hadn't even thought about going back to Michelangelo's. Thinking about it, my suspension was almost over. Did I even want to go back? With the money Bennett gave me, I really didn't have to. But if things didn't work out, I'd be screwed. Coffee House didn't pay me enough to support myself, let alone any college bills that may come in the fall. "I have a couple more days. Thinking about going back makes me want to cry though."

"But your tips are so good! Ten grand good," she added with a grin.

I laughed. "Not everyone is as special as Bennett."

"Hmm, I wonder if he has a brother."

"Oh, actually, Sebastian - that guy he was with the other day - said that Bennett had a brother."

Ariana's brown eyes lit up. "Oh yeah? I may be in luck after all."

I shoved the money back in the register and closed the drawer. "If he's anything like Bennett, you probably don't want to go for it."

"I'm up for a challenge," was her response. "It's about time for me to get over your brother, anyway."

I tensed at the mention of my brother. "Yeah."

Ariana gave me a sympathetic look. "He'll be out soon, Henley. He's made it this long so I'm sure these six months will fly by. Are you still mad at him?"

"I was never mad at him," I told her, putting my arms into my apron and leaning against the counter. "I'll be happy when he's out. Less stress off me— if he can even find a job. Jail doesn't look too good on a resume. Ugh, he's so stupid."

"That's if he even did it," she pointed out. "If you guys can somehow prove he didn't—"

"Doesn't matter since he still went to jail for it," I cut her off. "Maybe he did do it, I don't know. He does like to drink." I was tired of having that argument with myself. Did Brandon do it? Or did he not do it? Was he innocent? Or had he actually stolen the car and put multiple lives in danger? Either way, it made my head hurt. And either way, he'd been gone for the last half year and I'd been left by myself.

Ariana placed her hands on her hips. "When he gets out he's going to want to fight this."

"He's going to need a new lawyer first," I said. His current lawyer didn't seem to be on our side at all.

"Maybe Bennett knows someone who can help. You should ask him."

Bennett probably did know someone who could help us out, but I didn't think I wanted to ask him for help. What was I supposed to say? Please help my brother (who may be guilty) out of the crime we're not sure he committed? It didn't sound too good. "Don't bring it up to Bennett, please. Don't even mention Brandon's name. And while I'm at it, don't tell him I mentioned him having a brother. It kind of seemed like he didn't want to talk about it," I told her, thinking back. His expression had mimicked my own when someone asked me about my brother. That kind of stop-talking-now look.

Ariana tapped her chin. "I won't say anything. But do you think it's like all those T.V shows where the brothers have to fight for the family business? Because that would be pretty intense."

I hadn't thought about that. It would definitely make sense, especially if there was only to be one CEO of the hotel. A family torn up by money... it would explain why Bennett was so dramatic. "Huh. Maybe."

"Then maybe the other brother will meet you, and fall in love with you and they'll be fighting over you and the right to the hotel!"

I grinned and shook my head. "Okay, Ariana, leave your crazy ideas to your books."

She rubbed her hands together, grinning evilly. "A writer does need to get her inspiration from somewhere."

Just then my phone vibrated and Ariana let out an 'aha!' and snapped her fingers. I flipped her off and picked my phone up from off the counter and looked at it. Bennett Calloway flashed on my screen. "I'm sensing a trend here," I said as answered it.

"You picked up." He sounded surprised.

"That's what you're supposed to do when your phone rings," I retorted, even though I usually ignored the phone call and texted the person instead. But Bennett deserved my sarcasm.

"You're at work though," he pointed out.

"If you knew that then why did you call?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Oh, um, I'm fine." His question threw me off guard and suddenly I felt like a jerk. Here I was being bitchy while he was actually being considerate for once. "How are you?"

"I left some Aspirin in the bag with your clothing, did you see it? I figured you'd have a headache this morning."

He'd left me Aspirin? That was surprisingly sweet. I'd been in such a rush to get to bed I hadn't even emptied out that bag though. "I missed it. Did you go out to buy it? You didn't have to. It was my choice to drink and I'll deal with the consequences."

"I carry it around with me," he told me and I imagined him shrugging. "I get headaches often."

"Oh. Well still, thank you," I said awkwardly. He sounded weird today. Meek, almost. Maybe I had been a little too rude to him. I couldn't remember my exact words, so I wasn't sure. But it was definitely weird to have Bennett acting this way. Creepy, almost. "Listen, Bennett, about last night—"

"It's okay," he said immediately. "I've been, for lack of better words, an asshole. Don't apologize because you haven't been doing anything wrong. It was me."

Just what exactly had I said the night before? Whatever it was, it worked. I was impressed. "Okay."

"Can we move past this? I want this to work and not be awkward between us. I will do my best not to let a repeat happen."

"Yeah, sure." Get past me being completely plastered in front of him? No problem. Gladly.

There was a moment of silence after that. I was beginning to think this was a habit of his. Ariana stared at me hard, obviously listening to our conversation. I shooed her away.

"Ah, that's right. Last night when I was leaving your apartment, I noticed that your lock on the front door was going," he started again.

My heart skipped a beat. Had he entered my apartment? I didn't remember that. "You went into my place?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"No, I just walked you to your door. I'm talking about the main entrance. You should call your landlord to have it fixed. The area you live in is... unsettling."

I relaxed a little bit. It wasn't like I was embarrassed about my apartment (okay maybe a little), but in Bennett's eyes, it would probably look like trash. I definitely didn't want him entering it or making any comments about its state. "I think she changed her number."

"Your landlord?"

"Yeah, she doesn't really act like one. Hence the squatter living below me."

Bennett hummed. "Maybe I can contact her."

"No thank you," I said quickly. I had the feeling Bennett contacting my landlord would most likely end up with me being kicked out. "I don't mind, anyway. The squatter isn't bothering me."

"Squatter aside, shouldn't your landlord be making sure the upkeep of the apartment is good? It wouldn't be a problem for me to contact her."

"It's my problem and my place so I'll fix it myself," I told him. Ariana raised her eyebrows and mouthed bitch at me.

He sighed. "Why are you like that?"

"Like what?"

"Why do you refuse my help? Most people would gladly accept it."

I shrugged and then realized he couldn't see me. "I've been on my own for a while so I'm used to doing things for myself and by myself. It's better than relying on other people for everything. Sorry if I sound rude."

"You sound lonely."

I really wanted to say "what do you know?", but I refrained from it. He probably didn't know. He was rich. He had a family. It was better just to steer the direction of the conversation away from myself. The less he knew the better. The last thing I wanted was any more pity from him. "Is there any other reason you're calling?"

Ariana shook her head at me and I raised an eyebrow in a questioning way. "You're so rude," she whispered.

Her comment distracted me and I only caught the end of Bennett's next sentence. "I figured it would be the fastest way. I will come to pick you up and drop you off, of course," he finished.

"For what? Sorry, Ariana was talking." Despite not thinking I was being rude, I lightened my tone to sound more polite.

"I said that you should come to my house because no one mentioned seeing us last night to my mother."

His house? Oh man, I did not want to see what type of mansion he lived in. He probably had security at the front gate. But it was part of my job so it wasn't like I could say no to him, especially after last night. Maybe he lived more modestly and I wouldn't feel too out of place. Or, even better, maybe he had a Jacuzzi. A Jacuzzi would be worth it. "I'll come over, but if you want your mom to know so bad why don't you just tell her?"

"Because she won't believe me if I tell her I have a girlfriend right now. And even if she did, she'd want to meet you and then she'd know something was up immediately, as I've said," he explained then he sucked in a quick breath of air. "That wasn't meant to be condescending."

I nodded my head appreciatively. So, he was taking my words to heart. Good. "It doesn't really make sense to me, but sure."

"I know what I'm doing doesn't make very much sense to you, but I know what I'm doing. We have to put off meeting my mom until she genuinely thinks I'm interested in you and that's when we'll go and meet her."

"And going over to your house helps this how?"

"I don't let people over to my house," he told me. "Aside from Sebastian. If I have you over, she will definitely think something is serious between us."

That sounded sketchy. "Why doesn't anyone go to your house?"

"That's..." he trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

I wondered if it was something private I shouldn't have asked about. "Well, actually I feel that way about my house too. So, I guess I should feel honored to be allowed to visit your mansion— house, I mean."

"I will see you at six then."

"I'll drive there. What's the address?"

"I'll pick you up," he responded.

I pursed my lips. I was a capable person. "Why? I can drive there. Don't waste your gas."

"Your car will give away your social status."

I narrowed my eyes but couldn't say anything. He was right - my car was pretty darn beat up - but I still couldn't help feeling a bit insulted.

"No offense," he added after a moment.

He was learning, albeit slowly.

"Fine," I agreed in a mumble.

"See you then," he said and promptly hung up.

I shoved my phone back into my pocket and scowled. "Dude sucks at goodbyes."

Ariana patted my shoulder. "Sounds rough. So what did he want? A hot hookup?"

"I'm going over to his house, I guess."

Her eyes grew wide. "Wait, it is a hookup? I was just joking!"

"No," I said, waving my hand. "He's weird. I don't really know. I feel like he's afraid of his mom or something, but isn't he kind of old for that? I wonder what kind of person she is." I wondered if I should be afraid of the kind of person she is. Anyone who looked down on the lesser fortunate couldn't really receive any respect from me and judging by Bennett, his mom couldn't be too different about it. She was probably worse.

"You think he has a Jacuzzi?" Ariana asked.

I broke out of my reverie and grinned. I knew there was a reason for Ariana being my best friend, aside from the fact I didn't have any other friends. "I guess we'll find out."

*

Back at home and after showering, I was once again facing the dilemma that all my clothing was old and baggy. I debated wearing the dress I'd worn last night but didn't want to wear dirty clothing. Which left me with a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt, my usual attire. I didn't think it mattered this time since I was just going to his house— it wasn't like I was meeting anyone. Hopefully.

The minute I saw a car pull down my street I rushed out of my apartment and locked it behind me. As I hurried down the stairs I looked at the apartment below me and was surprised to see a couple of squatters hanging out instead of the usual woman. A couple of them stared at me and a couple waved and I waved back a little awkwardly. One squatter was fine but five? Our landlord was going to notice eventually. And I wasn't sure how comfortable I felt with all the locks in this place being shoddy...

Shaking my head, I exited the main door. I'd figure that out later.

I headed over to Bennett's black BMW and slipped into the passenger's side. "Hi," I greeted him. I noticed that once again he was dressed in dark jeans and a button up. Must be his favorite type of outfit.

He turned to me, frowning. "Aren't you afraid?"

"Of what?"

"Diseases."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "I've been living here for a while and I'm okay so I'm sure I'll be fine."

Bennett seemed disturbed. "If you say so."

"Where do you live? I need an address to give Ariana in case you decide to kidnap and rob me."

"Cute," he said and pulled into the street. "I live close by."

Close by? What was his idea of close by? Because he seemed to think NYC was also close by. Hopefully, I wouldn't be in the car with him for a long period of time again.

"Don't get offended," Bennett started and I braced myself, "but do you not have a sense of style or can you just not afford one?"

I shrugged. He got me there. My clothing sucked. Even I knew that. "A little of both, but in my defense my sense of style is expensive."

"If I give you extra money would you consider it charity?"

"Most likely. I wouldn't accept it."

He nodded. "I figured you wouldn't. Even though you're working for me so I'm just paying you for services."

I cringed. "Can you not say it like that? You make me sound like a prostitute. Being paid to date you is bad enough."

"If it's benefiting both of us, I don't see the problem. If you don't like the business comparison I could compare it to a father giving his child money—"

"Please don't," I interjected. I did not want that picture in my head. "I can buy some stuff with the money you already gave me, don't worry. I won't buy it from Target either." Maybe I'd check out New York & Company or Express. I usually liked their clothing but I couldn't afford it. To Bennett, they were probably like Target, though. But whatever. He didn't have to know where I bought it from as long as it looked good.

"My mom will most likely call if she sees us on the camera entering my house, so don't enter right away."

I waited for him to elaborate, and when he didn't, I turned toward him and furrowed my eyebrows. "Okay and that's not supposed to sound weird? Why is she watching the cameras at your house? Is it your house or her house?"

"It's my house," he said, sounding a little offended. "I paid for it myself. She can get into the security."

"Why is she invading your privacy like that?"

"She's done it my whole life. That's why I need you. She controls so much of my life I don't want her to control my love life too."

I nodded because that was understandable. "You know you have to sign something to get legally married, right? Just don't sign it."

Bennett's lips curved up a little as if he found what I said funny. "She has ways of making me do what she wants. Right now, it's taking away my house and my car."

"You said that your house and your car is yours. She can't take them. If she does, call the cops and report a robbery."

"You haven't met my mom," he responded, letting out a dry chuckle. "She can and will do whatever she wants. She still owns the hotel. I could be cut off and kicked out."

"Yeah and then you'd have to do what everyone else has to do and work their way into a good position in the world," I retorted. Bennett's faced fell flat and I grimaced inwardly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

He shook his head. "No worries. I say many things I shouldn't to you as well. We'll both try our best."

"I just can't comprehend it," I told him. "How old are you again? Thirty?"

"I'm twenty-five," he muttered. "I don't even look close to thirty."

I shrugged and he narrowed his eyes. "Still. You're a young adult, she shouldn't be interfering."

"That's what I'm saying."

"You're scared shitless of her, aren't you? Either that or of becoming penniless. Actually, I'm going to go for both."

Bennett glanced at me, his expression a little taken aback. "Are you still getting back at me from last night?"

I smiled a little. "No, I'm just being blunt this time."

"Well, I'm not afraid of becoming poor. I've been working since I was fifteen and I know how to save and invest money."

I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. "You've worked at the hotel since you were fifteen?"

He nodded. "My mother made me do odd jobs to learn the hotel better. Although to this day I don't understand how washing dishes could make me a better CEO."

"Understanding the workers?" I guessed. It was weird to imagine Bennett doing menial jobs like washing dishes. I figured he'd just graduated college and got whatever position he wanted. But maybe I was just at bad as assumptions as he was.