by Jamie Knight
Plucking her Clover
Copyright © 2020 Jamie Knight Romance.
Jamie Knight
Your Dirty Little Secret Romance Author
All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 13
Melissa3
Chapter 26
Melissa6
Chapter 39
Finnegan9
Chapter 411
Finnegan11
Chapter 514
Melissa14
Chapter 617
Finnegan17
Chapter 719
Melissa19
Chapter 821
Finnegan21
Chapter 924
Melissa24
Chapter 1
Melissa
I was really starting to enjoy studying abroad here in Ireland. It had always been a dream of mine to travel and see the world. Plus, there's the additional benefit of continuing my education.
Lately, this whole experience has mostly just tired me out, though. As if the studying wasn't difficult enough, being on my own here meant getting a job to support myself and pay for my school expenses.
My opportunities for fun and exploration quickly became nonexistent. Now my time is spent between work and school. Finding the perfect balance for both of them is extremely difficult.
I slide into a seat at a small cafe near my school. I can't afford to order anything, but I just want to rest for a few minutes before I hurry back to the library to study some more.
It was a long day of research for this paper I'm writing, but there's something else that has my mind preoccupied as well. There's been a rumor going around school that the price of tuition is increasing.
This is what has been bothering me all day. I tried asking a couple of my classmates, but no one knows if it's actually true. I made the decision to stop by the registrar's office after class and find out the truth.
I have to mentally prepare myself for that. I usually don't like confrontation and prefer to keep to myself. But I need to know if this rumor is true or not. If it is, then I'll have to find a way to increase my hours at work. I'm not looking forward to that.
I take a few seconds and stare at the other people in the cafe. I remind myself of how I like the people and the culture here, of why I am doing this.
Eventually I get to my feet and walk back outside. It's cold today, so I tighten my jacket around me and walk back towards the school. I can't wait for the spring weather.
This is probably the only thing I haven't adjusted to yet, the cold climate. The people here are used to it, but I don't know if I ever will be. Being from Idaho, I’m used to some cold, but here in Dublin, it’s a whole new level.
I finally arrive back at school. I walk down the corridors, my mind full of worry about what they might tell me.
I arrive at the office quicker than I expected. I turn the handle to the door and walk in. Despite not liking confrontation, I can be very determined, especially when it's about something important.
"Excuse me, I have a question," I announce, as I walk up to the registrar's desk.
The guy sitting behind it ignores me for a few seconds, before asking, "Yes, what can I do for you?" in a bored voice.
He doesn't even bother to look at me.
"Well, I heard other students talking on campus, and I was wondering if it’s true that they are going to increase the cost of the tuition this year?" I ask.
I almost hesitate, but this is too important. I need an answer.
He sighs impatiently and says, "I'm sorry but we are not allowed to give out information like that…"
He had started out as if he was giving me a rehearsed speech, but now that he’s finally glancing up at me, he stops talking and looks me up and down. My skin crawls as he leers at me. This guy is so not my type, and he gives me the creeps.
"However, I think I could make an exception for a beautiful girl like you, so pretty and curvaceous," he responds, wiggling his bushy eyebrows at me.
I try not to gag, because this guy is repulsive, and not just personality wise, either. His looks, his aura, and just everything about him are so gross.
I hate being forced into situations like this. But a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do to find out some important information. I swallow deeply and plaster a smile on my face.
"Well, I would certainly appreciate any help you could give me," I say, trying to sound a little breathless.
I bat my eyelashes at him a few times, then look away, pretending to be embarrassed. I can tell he believes my fake flirting.
"How about I talk to you about it later tonight?" he asks, leaning over his desk and leering at me even more obviously.
I try not to shudder at how close he is to me, but I whisper back, "Well, I really need an answer now, because I'll be late for class…"
I try to pout and act helpless like I've seen the girls do in movies. It works.
As I wait for his answer, I can't help but think to myself, "This is why I'm still a virgin. The only guys who want to get with me are so gross."
It's so depressing.
He looks around to make sure no one is listening.
"Ok, I guess I can tell you. The rumors are true; tuition is going up because otherwise the school doesn't have enough money and will have to shut down. They completely mismanaged their budget this year."
His words send bolts of anxiety through my brain. I turn and leave the office as quickly as I can.
I can hear him shouting after me, "Hey, I wasn't supposed to share that info with you, and I did. You owe me a date!'
My mind is racing. As I walk back outside, hurrying to work, I try to think about whether I can find any new clients or how to get extra shifts to cover this rising expense. Cleaning houses only pays so much, no matter how good of a job you do.
Though it's not always easy work, its steady work, which is about all you can ask for when you are on a student Visa. Thank goodness the guy I clean these houses for is rich.
My job isn't too far from the school, but that isn’t saying much, since everything is relatively close in this town. The only thing that is quite a distance is the house of my host family, or the people that I'm staying with while I study here.
As I approach work, I start to worry about the rising tuition again. I'm just about to knock on the door and it opens. I'm startled and so is the woman who opens it.
"Oh!" we both say in surprise.
She clears her throat and looks at my school bag and the outfit I'm wearing.
"You must be the cleaning girl," she states.
"Yes, I’m Melissa," I reply.
She nods.
"I was actually waiting for you; my father owns the house…." she says.
She hesitates, as if there's something she wants to say, but is unsure how to say it.
"You were waiting for me?" I ask her after a few seconds.
"Yes, well, I don't know how to say it, but my father just passed away…" she says softly.
I can feel a sinking sense of doom and sadness in my stomach.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," I reply.
I meant it; the old guy was a decent guy to work for.
"Yes, thank you."
She clears her throat and continues talking.
"I hate to do this, but because of his passing, you're no longer needed here anymore. I'm sorry."
I suck in a deep breath of air, but I feel like I've been punched in the stomach.
"Oh, well, I understand," is the only response I can muster up.
But after a few seconds, I add, "I should go then. Sorry again about your
dad!"
I can hear the door close as I turn and walk away.
I can't believe my bad luck.
I decide to head home to the house I share with my host family, feeling dejected.
Chapter 2
Melissa
Later I finally arrive at home. I walk in the door and am greeted with silence.
"Thank goodness," I mutter to myself, because it means that my host family isn't home.
I'm so grateful for that because, even though I like them, after the day I have had, I really don't feel like dealing with anyone yet. I can feel a headache starting to build because of all the emotions from today.
I look at the clock and realize that it's still a long while before everyone else is supposed to be home. I guess getting fired today means that I got here earlier than them.
I pull off my jacket and walk upstairs to the bathroom. I can feel my emotions taking over again, so I turn on the radio as loud as possible.
After putting away my jacket and bag, I decide to run the water for a bath. I'm trying to distract my mind to keep my emotions in check. I want so badly to cry and scream along with the music on the radio. I probably would, but I’m afraid my host family would come home and hear me and think I’m some kind of lunatic.
I'm adjusting the temperature of the water when the phone rings. I try to ignore it, but it just keeps on ringing.
I sigh in frustration and turn off the water. Then I hurry to answer the persistently ringing phone.
"Hello?" I ask, knowing that I sound a little irritated.
"Wow, is that any way to greet your best friend?" a voice asks from the other end of the phone.
My mood lightens a little as I realize I'm talking to my best friend from back in Idaho.
"Sorry, Sheila, I was in the middle of something," I explain.
"That's okay," she replies.
There's a momentary pause in the conversation. It's been a while since we talked. I take the phone into the kitchen and sit in one of the chairs at the table.
"So, how are things with you?" I ask.
"Oh, I've been doing well; perhaps very well…." she says.
"Really? How so?" I ask her.
I’m not usually this nosy or impatient. I let her get around to whatever she wants to say. Usually. But this time, something in her voice made me curious.
"Well, I have a reason for calling you… I'm getting married and I want to invite you to the wedding," she explains.
I'm speechless for a second and almost drop the phone in shock.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so happy for you!" I squeal in excitement.
We both burst into giggles.
“So, who’s the lucky guy?”
“His name’s Andrew,” she says.
I start wracking my brain for anyone named that in our class, but nothing rings a bell, until she says, “You don’t know him. He’s definitely not from here. A recent transplant from Silicon Valley. He owns a tech company."
“Nice,” I whistle. “Sounds like our little hometown of Bloom, Idaho is really moving up in the world.”
“Yeah, they opened a second branch here and injected a lot of money into the economy, and… oh, enough about me. You’re the one who’s studying abroad in Ireland! And I really want to hear how that’s going. Sorry I’m yapping so much.”
“It’s fine!” I tell her, and it really is, since my life here isn’t very exciting and now I feel kind of stupid about having only bad news to share with her when she has had such big things going on.
“I’m really glad you’re happy,” I say. “You are so lucky to have finally found love. I keep hoping that will happen to me while I'm here, but I'm having as much luck with that as I did back in Idaho."
Sheila laughs, "Yeah, a lot of the dates back here were pretty awful."
I have to agree with her.
"You're right about that. I mean, I know the skating rink isn't the most exciting place to have a date but all of ours sure made it really boring," I say.
"Yeah, remember how many times we were asked to couple skate by all those dorky guys, when you and Tammy and I would show up?" Sheila asks, mentioning her best friend from high school.
She had a lot of friends who were close seconds, and I was one of them, but she and Tammy were always super tight.
"Of course, there's no way of forgetting things like that."
I laugh. My conversation with Sheila has made me forget about all my worries momentarily, at least.
"What's wrong? You got quiet," Sheila says.
I want so badly to cry. I take a breath, before I start telling her about my problems. I hate to rain on her parade after her big announcement.
"I'm just pretty sad today. I got some bad news earlier that they are increasing the costs at my school. I won't be able to pay for it, so I'll probably have to go back home," I admit.
"Oh, no. That’s a shame. I’m sorry. There has to be some way to fight this! What about your jobs? I thought they were going really well?" Sheila asks, sounding concerned.
I sigh again.
"The guy I was working for died, so his daughter let me go," I explain.
I try to fight back the tears that have been building up all day, to no avail.
"Ohhhhh…." Sheila says, then gets quiet.
We share a moment of silence.
Eventually, Sheila coughs quietly.
"I should go. I have things to do before the family gets home," I say softly.
I don't want to burden her anymore with my problems.
"Wait, before you go, there's something I want to tell you," Sheila says.
"Oh, ok, sure," I reply.
I'm a little distracted now after being reminded about my financial situation.
"I think I might know of a way that you can make some money," Sheila explains.
This catches my attention, so I listen quietly.
"This is sort of like my little secret. I haven't told anyone else about it," Sheila says softly. "But I found a way to get both love and money, and you can, too."
Now I'm very skeptical.
Was she planning to have me join some cult or something?
"Ok," I reply, the skepticism evident in my voice.
"Now hear me out before you start judging or doubting,” she insists. “I know this might seem like an unconventional way to do things for most people, but there is an auction club that hosts auctions in which billionaires buy virgins. This is how I met my fiancé. Obviously, I don’t tell many people that, so keep it on the downlow. But if you want, I can ask him if it's international and if any are in Ireland?"
I'm shocked by what she just told me and have no idea what to say in response. Even though she's my one of my best friends, I can't help but feel a little bit weirded out by it all. After all, it’s not every day I hear about something like this.
"Well, that's very interesting, but I'll have to think about it," I'll finally respond.
"I know it's a lot to think about, and a lot to take in. I'll call you later in the week once I find out more information," she replies.
"Like I said, I'll have to think about it." I glance at the clock, and realize I have very little time left until the family gets back.
"Listen, I have to get some things done," I say.
"Ok, I'll call you later in the week?" Sheila asks.
"That's fine, I'm really happy about your wedding and I wish you all the best!" I reply, sincerely.
"Thanks! I really hope you can make it. I'll call you soon," she promises and then we both hang up.
I hurry to bathe and relax before the house gets crowded. I sink into the warm soapy water and all my thoughts and concerns float away. This was exactly what I needed right now.
Chapter 3
Finnegan
I sigh and rub my temples.
I really need a break.
It's not even the middle of the day and I'm already tired. Owning the distilleries is the easy part – it's the running of them that stresses me out.
My day is only getting worse, because not only am I overseeing the training of several new employees for our new warehouse near Dublin, but I also have to listen to my manager telling me everything that is going wrong with the opening of that new warehouse.
It is stressful because it's slowing down our distribution process and we could wind up losing money trying to fix it. I don't like losing anything, especially money.
I sigh deeply and stop listening to him. This is just too much for me to deal with this early in the day. I wish I had thought to take the day off, but I'm the type that never likes to miss a day of business. I turn and start to walk away.
"I'll be back later, I need to take a break," I tell him as I walk out.
"Is everything ok, boss?" he asks, sounding a little worried.
"Yes, I just need a few minutes to relax," I answer.
"Oh ok. Are you going to the Love in Dublin club?" he asks curiously.
"Maybe later; we'll see," is my response.
I walk outside to my car. This time of year in Ireland is always cold. I've been living here so long that these temperatures no longer bother me. As I start to drive home, I debate whether to turn on the radio, but decide to be alone with my thoughts instead.
I think about what my manager asked. Normally I would stop at the club, because taking care of my kinks and satisfying my needs would normally help me relax, but today I'm just not in the mood.
Maybe that's what's been bothering me so much. I've been living this BDSM lifestyle for so long that it’s becoming boring. That is very disappointing. I don't know why I've been feeling this way lately, like I'm disappointed or unsatisfied with everything.
I know I should be happy because I make tons of money from my business but sometimes, I just feel so fucking empty and alone. I wish I could shake the sense of depression that I have been having, but I just can't seem to.
Maybe it's all that I've been through. As I'm driving, I find myself thinking about something that I haven't in a long time. My life and childhood.
The early years, stuck in the house with my parents fighting.
Having to put up with their abuse of me for all those years.
I think about the freedom I felt when I turned 18. I left them and their abuse so far behind.