by Amy Rose
After my shower I feel invigorated. As I am applying my mascara a knock on the door sounds, I lean back and unlock the door and open it, returning to the mirror and the task at hand. “You look great, babe. I’m going to grab the car and I’ll meet you out front shortly.”
“Okay,” I reply. I see him walk away in the mirror. I apply one last brush of mascara and pack it all away.
I wander out to the bedroom and grab my phone, wallet and handbag. I deposit my wallet but keep my phone in hand. I log onto my bank app and look at my available funds in my everyday account, $1,687.96. I had already paid all my bills for the month and my next pay was due on the first of January. I exit that account and open my trust fund, $10,360,000 is sitting there. It had been there since the day I turned eighteen accruing interest annually. I hate having this money, as doing so meant that my grandfather had passed away, and I loved him so very much. He was a successful real estate entrepreneur who purchased properties that needed a little work and then rented them out. He never sold a property, not until he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. That’s when he decided to start liquidating his portfolio of close to thirty properties, all in Manhattan. He then took that money and created trust funds for me, his only grandchild, and the remainder was left to his two children, my father and his sister.
I have always told myself I would never need his money, that I would do this all by myself, and one day I would own a portfolio of properties like Grandpa. However, I wouldn’t do it with his money. I would leave that money for my own children, if I had any.
I am staying true to my word. If I did indeed transfer some money across, it wasn’t being spent on me. It was going to be spent on Elliot, my kind-hearted boyfriend.
However, if I did indeed purchase him something expensive, he would then know my secret. Would it be so bad if I told him that I had money? Then again, wasn’t that cat out of the bag now, anyway? He did see my apartment last night, and I confirmed that I didn’t have a mortgage on it.
Then I had to keep in mind, he had a lot more money than I did, that was for sure. I exit my banking app without transferring any money. I will purchase something for Elliot in my normal price range. I throw my phone into my bag, sling it over my shoulder, scoop up my keys from the counter, I leave the house, after checking twice that I have locked the front door, then walk straight over to the car.
I notice that Price is absent, and that Elliot is leaning against the front passenger door, his dark black-lensed aviator sunglasses on, looking like he is on the set of a photo shoot for BMW cars. My heart nearly leaps out of my chest.
“You’re driving your own car today?”
He grins. “Lenny and Andrew took off early this morning for their Christmas break, so yes, I will be driving.” At that he opens the door and bends low, performing a silly bow that instantly makes me laugh. Once I am in the car, he closes the door with a thud, rushes around the front of the car, and places himself in the driver’s seat.
“Now before we go, I need to ask you a favor.” I turn to look at him. A favor? What could he mean?
“A favor?” I repeat, he nods.
“Would you mind picking out a handbag for my mother for me? I have a terrible eye for these sorts of things, and I figure you’re a female, so you might have better luck then I.”
I smirk slightly. “I’m a female, am I? Gosh, you’re perceptive, aren’t you?” I raise my eyebrow at him, before continuing, “Yes, I can help you select a bag for your mother.”
As soon as he hears me say yes, he fishes out his wallet. “Great, here is some money which should cover it. Anything left over, you can purchase yourself something with. Consider it commission.” He hands over a wad of one hundred dollar bills that had to be at least thirty thick. I look at the wad with shock and quickly count the money in my hand.
“You do know this is nearly four thousand dollars, don’t you?” I look up at him awaiting his response to grab some money back off me.
Instead, he asks, “Is that not enough? I have more” he reaches back into his wallet and I see even more money.
I reach out and grab his wrist with my hand. “Elliot, first of all, are you crazy carrying around this amount of money? Imagine if you get jumped, and they take off with your wallet. Second, the handbags I purchase are normally one hundred dollars at the most, I’m out of my depth here with this kind of money. We would have to go to a boutique to purchase a bag for this price.”
He drops his wallet into the center console and takes my hand in his. “I’m not just going to send you off on your own, baby. One of Mom’s favorite brands is Prada. I’ll take you to their shop on Fifth Avenue.” He turns his attention to the ignition and starts it with a push of a button. “As for getting jumped, if they can overpower me, then they can have my wallet. It’s not like I would miss that kind of money, anyway.”
I consider his statement for a moment, at how blasé he is in regard to his money. “Well, if you’re going to be with me why would I need this money?” I lift the bunch of bills and fan them in front of myself. “Can’t you just pay with your bank card?” I ask.
His expression changes for just longer than a split second, and he doesn’t answer right away. Once we have made it halfway down the driveway, he finally speaks. “Well, we have to buy a number of gifts today and we will split up at times so it’s possible you may need to buy some of mine too. I thought cash would be better than giving you a bank card to use.”
I can feel my face going bright red, I fish my sunglasses out of my handbag and look out the window away from Mr. Moneybags. It’s not like I didn’t know he had money. Of course, I did; he purchased a house off me with cash. The house he lives in is near enough to a castle in the most expensive neighborhood in the country, and he is a self-made billionaire. He pays for every date, and my air fares. In fact, I couldn’t remember ever having to pull out my wallet whenever I have been with him, aside from that failed attempt to pay for our coffees that time in Nashville.
I know most girls would love to be splashed with cash like this but I’m not a gold digger. I want to make sure he knows that. I turn back towards him with the cash in hand, I pick up his wallet and replace the hundred-dollar bills between the folds with the other bills. Once I have placed his wallet back in the center console, I speak my piece. “Elliot, you know I’m not dating you because you have money, don’t you?” I prepare myself to wait a little while for my answer, but it is instantaneous.
“Absolutely. I know that, Angela.”
“Good. I have my own money, plenty of my own money in fact. It’s there if I want to use it. I keep it tucked away for the future; I like living the way I do. I don’t need you to throw me money to make me happy. Just being with you does that, tenfold.”
I am still looking at the side of his face trying to ascertain his thoughts. We are driving along the street his house is on, approaching the turn-off to the main road that led us out of the estate. Before we make it to the intersection, he pulls the car over to the side and puts the car in park, and then turns to face me. The best he can in such a small space, he removes his glasses so I can see his beautiful blue eyes.
“It doesn’t matter to me if you have money or if you don’t, Angela. I have more money then I know what to do with. I’m a billionaire, for fuck’s sake. What I care about is you and the fun we have together and the happiness I feel when we spend time together. I want you to have nice things and I want to buy them for you. It’s my prerogative as your boyfriend to spoil you if I want to. I guess what I’m trying to say is that money means nothing to me. But you do, baby.”
My heart begins skipping a beat, it wasn’t the I love you I heard him say last night, but it was along those same lines. I reach out and take his hand, I run my thumb along his palm and speak again. “That’s good to know that we’re on the same page” he smiles at that turns back to face forward, putting the car back into drive, and we are once again on our way Christmas shopping.
~ Chapter Thirteen ~
Angela
We fill in the remainder of the drive with idle chit chat, discussing what presents we need to buy. Besides a Prada handbag for Maggie, we are going to look for a coffee machine for Beth, along with a piece of jewelry, iPads for Jack and Nicky, and a camera for Arthur. Elliot had already purchased the Yankees season tickets for David so that was one less item to buy; he assured me, though, that he still got everyone stocking stuffers.
We pull into the driveway to The Peninsula Hotel on Fifth Avenue, and Elliot slides out and hands his keys to the valet. “I need parking for a few hours” he hands the gentleman two hundred dollars and then turns around to take my hand. “Ready, baby?” He asks, I nod in response with a smile forming on my face.
“Where first? Prada?” I ask.
“Why not? It’s down this way.” We start walking down the avenue toward the many high-end boutiques that are stationed along this exclusive area of shopping. I had driven past this area a few times when I was still living here, and walked along the sidewalk once or twice, but never went into any of these shops. I just wandered past, window shopping. And yet here I am today, holding hands with one of New York’s wealthiest former bachelors, preparing myself to enter quite a few of these shops and spend a lot of Elliot’s money on Christmas gifts for his family.
We make it to the Prada boutique in no time. Elliot opens the door for me and we walk in. Compared to the cool wind outside, the store is lovely and warm. A sales representative with a false smile walks over to us. “Welcome to Prada. What can I help you with today?” Even though her smile is clearly meant for Elliot he doesn’t take any notice.
“Ah thank you. We are looking for a handbag,”” I reply, tugging on Elliot’s hand. He turns to speak to me.
“Indeed. My girlfriend will have a look around and if we need to have a closer look at any, we will let you know.” He finishes his sentence by looking at our assistant, who has clearly worked out who he is by now.
She puts her left hand to her chest clearly showing she didn’t have an engagement or wedding ring on. “Of course, Mr. Sands. My name is Clara, by the way.” He gives her a quick smile before we step away from her and begin looking at bags.
“You have an admirer,” I grin at him, to which his response is a chuckle. He raises my hand to his mouth and presses his lips to them twice before allowing our hands to fall back again.
“Anything catch your eye?” he asks.
I point to a beautiful bag, black with red leather straps and a gold label over the top. Clara must have been standing right behind us, as she comes forward and lifts it down for us to have a closer look. It has three internal pockets, including one with a zipper. It is made with crocodile leather and it has a gold padlock to the side. The price tag read $4,500. I feel slightly dizzy. It is an absolutely gorgeous handbag.
“I don’t know about your mother, but I love this one. I’ll keep looking.” I unclasp my hand from Elliot’s and wander over to another section of the store to look at some other bags. I see a lovely cream-colored bag, larger in size then the black and red one.
I turn to see where Clara had got to, and I see that she is trying desperately to gain Elliott’s attention. Seeing my poor boyfriend looking at me for help and also feeling a little possessive I call out, “Sweetheart. What do you think of this one?”
He makes his way to me with four quick strides and is holding my hand once more. Clara, having followed, picks the bag off the shelf for me and gives us a closer look. It is also beautiful, cream in color with a beige stitch. It has the three internal pockets and the gold lock on the side, and is a bargain at only $5,700. “I think mother will love it. We will take one of each,” Elliot told her.
Clara nods. “Right away for you, Mr. Sands. Would you like for me to gift wrap these for you?” she asks.
Elliot replies “Thank you Clara. If you could pop a note on the outside of them so we know which one is which, that would be great.”
Clara walks off with the cream bag and collects the black and red one too. “That’s sweet of you. Your mother will love them both,” I said. Then, “Hang on. Why would we need to know which bag is which if they are both for her?” I ask. Elliot is already making his way to the counter to pay for these purchases. We had only just begun our shopping and in the very first store we entered he had spent over $10,000. I walk past him and comment “I’ll wait for you outside.” And continue till I am standing outside in the cold.
I fish my black leather gloves out of my handbag and put them on, thankful that I had decided to throw them in at the last minute. The weather looks as though it may snow before the day is out. I hear the door open beside me, and out steps Elliot holding two Prada bags containing our purchases. “Okay Mr. Moneybags. Where to next?”
He gives me the most beautiful smile in response. “I’ve been called worse things in my life. Let’s go to Tiffany’s and look for a necklace or bracelet for Beth.” He nods in the direction we should take, and I walk beside him.
“Do you want me to carry one of those for you?” I ask.
”I’ve got this. I’ll be the packhorse today. Even Mr. Moneybags holds his woman’s bags for her.” he replies.
We walk about a block before I can see the blue signage indicative of Tiffany’s. As we get to the front door, a man in a suit opens the door for us and welcomes us in. Once inside I can see several other men in suits stationed around the store. “Security?” I offer up to Elliot, who agrees.
A pretty brunette approaches us, “Hello sir, madam. Welcome to Tiffany’s New York. My name is Rose, and you are…?”
I smile at Rose and opened my mouth to reply, but Elliot is already doing that for us. “Hi Rose, I’m Elliot and this beautiful woman here is my girlfriend, Angela.”
To which I then add, “We would like to have a look at some necklaces and bracelets for Elliot’s sister. Would you mind showing us?”
Rose smiles at me and speaks again. “Of course. Come with me, let’s have a look.”
I take a couple of steps forward and realize that Elliot isn’t following me. Instead he is fishing his ringing cell phone out of his pocket. “I’ll catch up in a sec. I’ll just take this.” I turn on my heel as I hear him answer the call.
Rose shows me many beautiful jewelry pieces. The Tiffany heart. The Tiffany key. The Tiffany charm bracelet. I narrow it down to three items: a white gold charm bracelet with the blue gift box charm and love heart charm, the Tiffany key necklace in gold, and a white gold pair of earrings with diamonds around the Tiffany heart. “I just need to confirm which one Elliot prefers Rose; do you mind if I quickly go grab him?”
Her responding smile is lovely. “Of course not, Angela, I’ll wait here.”
I turn around to see if I can spot Elliot. He is standing over near some other glass cabinets with a grey-haired sales lady. She looks up and sees me coming and she apparently says something to Elliot, as he turns around and walks towards me.
Once I can reach him, “You find something for Beth?” He asks. He also blocks my view of what he has been looking at.
“Yes, I have it narrowed down to three options, all of which I would love to wear. Can you please come look and see which you think she would prefer?” I turn around and walk back to where Rose is still waiting for me.
Elliot looks at the three items. “Beth is a white gold girl. Let’s get the earrings and the charm bracelet.”
Rose, clearly happy with these choices, beams up at him. “Perfect. I’ll gift wrap those for you. If you will please follow me to the register Elliot and we can fix this up” We follow Rose to the register, where the total is declared $18,350. I can’t help but roll my eyes. I then feel a tap on the shoulder, I turn around to see the same sales lady who was with Elliot earlier.
“Hello Angela. I am Beverly. Your boyfriend asked me to speak to you. Come this way. I want to show you something.” She turns to the side and makes her way to a different counter to the one she was situated at earlier. We are in front of
the infinity collection, bracelets, earrings and necklaces, in gold, white gold and rose gold too.
“Elliot wants to purchase you something from this collection. He wants you, however, to choose.” she unlocks the cabinet door and waves her hand behind the assortment of jewelry.
“Oh, I can’t possibly.” I turn back to see that Elliot is still at the register.
“Of course, you can, Angela. Here let’s look at rings first.” She pulls out a tray with four different styles, some with diamonds, she also pulls out her ring sizer and offers it to me. “Try this on the finger you would wear the ring.” I hold out my right hand. “If this is a promise ring, dear, then I dare say he would want you to wear it on your left hand.” The tone Beverly uses is friendly enough.
I pull back my right hand and replace it with my left. I feel giddy, was he really getting me measured for an engagement ring? I dismiss the thought immediately. Of course, not. We haven’t been together long enough for him to take that gigantic leap. Or maybe it was one of those ‘when you know, you just know’ scenarios. If he asks, I don’t think I could possibly form a reason to say no, just maybe suggest a long engagement.
Beverly measures both my ring finger and my middle finger and writes both of those measurements down. Rose then approaches us at this time “I’ve wrapped both of the items for you Angela. Elliot has them.” And then she turns and walks away. For the next fifteen minutes or so I look at several items that I like but none of which I love. I thank Beverly for her help, though.
“You don’t like any?” I turn and almost run into Elliot, who is standing right behind me.
“It’s not that I don’t like any, they are all beautiful. It’s just that they are too much.” I lean up and kiss him on the cheek. “Let’s go get the rest of our shopping done.” he smiles down at me then leans forward to kiss me on the lips. When he pulls away, we walk out of the shop together. We dart around to a few other shops while we are in the area, and complete most of our shopping. We end up in Saks where we separate, and I find a lovely Ralph Lauren Polo sweater in a deep green for Elliot. I am surprised when it is on sale for $125.00. I ask the lady behind the counter to wrap it for me to which she agrees. I don’t want him peeking on the way home.