I give her a reassuring smile. “Don’t be. It was time for a change. Your first lesson? How to close up for the night. Go ahead and lock the door and change the sign over so we can get to work.”
Charlie rushes over to the door, locking it, then flips the sign over to Closed. She turns, her skirts swishing as she moves, planting her back against the door. Bringing her hands to her heart, she gasps, “That was easy. Now, tell me everything!”
Someone’s excited to expand upon her daily duties of shopping and sex.
Although overenthusiastic, she’s sweet and she’s in good hands. I’ll train her up, then in a few days, my plan to catch myself a Bachman begins.
I go to my favorite case in the store, admiring the rings. I hope, one day soon, to own one of my own. “Let’s start with the diamonds.”
We go through three cases; she’s a fast learner. We agree to meet in the morning, before the store opens so we can go over a few more things before she shadows me for the day.
As we’re leaving, Charlie grabs both my hands in hers. “Thank you for everything. And I have a message.”
“Please don’t let it be from Rockland. I don’t think I can handle any more news from him today.”
“Not him.” She waggles her brows. “A friend. A recently married one?”
I ask, “Oh—what does she say?”
She leans in, whispering even though we are the only two around. “She says... Gotcha.”
I laugh at the silly message. “I guess Charlotte pulled a few strings for me?”
She nods eagerly, excited to be in on the delivery. “Yes. And she said she hopes you enjoy your new job and that with a bit of luck maybe you’ll be neighbors one day.”
I allow myself to picture it; me and Charlotte with the other Beauties, visiting one another in our spacious homes. I breathe its name like a prayer. “The Village.”
Charlie asks, “Isn’t it the goal of every girl in New York?”
“Every girl that’s got the Bachman bug running through her blood,” I say.
She laughs. “The Bachman bug—I like that. I had it once and now, I’m one of the lucky ones.”
This girl’s got it bad. I think on the scale of cases, mine might be the worst there is. Especially because there’s something that sets me apart from the other girls; I don’t even want the man. I’ve seen my mother burn through too many assholes to desire one of my own.
I don’t want to fall in love. In my experience, love is for fools; play with the fires of the heart and you’re going to get a third-degree burn.
And marriage—don’t even get me started. I’ll play the part but it’s not the wedding I’m after.
Or the money.
Or the prestige of being a member of the world’s most powerful mafia.
I simply long to be a Beauty.
Just watching them makes me feel an aching loneliness deep inside of me. I see them coming into the store together, laughing and giggling over their silly inside jokes, their whispered gossip. I watch them breeze by my window in flocks, shopping bags by their sides, smiles on their faces. They are so happy in one another’s company and I want to be a part of them.
They are fierce, strong women who will stop at no length to protect one another. Once you are in their fold, you are instantly accepted as one of them.
Longing for the comradery of these women, to belong to their tight-knit pack, I know in order to get what I want, I must catch a Bachman man, and so I will.
But I am certain of one thing—I will not be falling in love in the process.
The End
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Ranch Daddy
Colton Jenkins is without question the sexiest man Josie Dixon has ever met, and as the assistant wedding manager at the CLAS ranch, she has the chance to fantasize about him ev
ery day. But Colton is an old-fashioned cowboy, the kind who isn’t afraid to take a woman in hand, and Josie knows what dating him would mean. Not only would she find herself over his knee with her panties down for a spanking as often as he felt it necessary, she would be calling him daddy.
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Shanna Handel Links
You can keep up with Shanna Handel via her website, her Facebook page, and her Goodreads profile, using the following links:
https://www.shannahandel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/shanna.handel
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16023769.Shanna_Handel
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