“Does this happen for everyone?”
“It’s automatic. It isn’t something that’s regulated through this branch.”
She shrugged.
“Is that supposed to mean something to me?”
“It means that the funds might not be available for a week.”
“I wasn’t planning on a shopping spree,” she said. “I already have a healthy balance, so I’m sure I’ll manage until the week is up.”
“Yes, I see that your balance is over five thousand right now, which has not been typical.”
She didn’t take the bait. He was fishing, and he was expecting her to crack and give him information without meaning to. But Shawna was no fool, and she realized that after this weekend, the manager’s bravado and his arrogant manner no longer bothered her. He didn’t know the first thing about Shawna or Eric, and she wasn’t going to let him bully an answer out of her.
“Look,” she said. “If you’re unable to secure the funds and you’re worried that your little bank will collapse if you deposit a few grand in my account, I understand. Just say the word, and I’ll bank elsewhere.”
“That’s not the issue,” he ground out, his neck turning red.
“Well, whatever the issue is, I’m tired of waiting for you to do your job. So, either deposit it, or give it back, or I’ll be happy to call the police and let them know that you’re withholding property. Unless that’s your name on the check?”
She smiled sweetly, and when he looked at her with anger in his eyes, she knew she had him. There was nothing he could do, and he knew he was in the wrong.
He worked his jaw, flipped the check over and typed quickly and furiously into the computer system. Then, he handed her a receipt for the deposit.
She took a pen and wrote his name down, as well as the designation of Branch Manager on his metal name badge.
He watched her, but he said nothing. He knew that there was nothing her could say at that point, and Shawna wasn’t sure she was going to report him, either. All she wanted was her check deposited, and she had enjoyed flexing her figurative muscles. The manager had caved faster than she expected, and she couldn’t wait to tell Eric how elated she felt at not letting herself be bowled over by a man with an obvious superiority complex.
She took her phone out and opened her bank app without moving away from the window, checking that her account showed not only her present balance, but a pending balance of sixty-thousand dollars more than the current amount. She thanked the Manager for his service and fought back a smile when he all but sneered as he ground out a formal goodbye.
When he disappeared into his office as she was leaving, he shut the door harder than was polite, and that time, she did laugh. He was throwing a tantrum like a petulant child, and Shawna was amused.
She held her head up a little higher as she left the building, and got into the car with a huge grin on her face. She had stood her ground and it felt good. It was almost a week before she would head into the office, but she wanted to remember this moment so she could share it with Eric. He was going to be so proud of her.
As she pulled away from the curb, she looked at the clock and realized that she was hungry. The linen place was all the way across town, and she decided to wait until Tuesday to go shopping for new sheets. She’d done enough for the day, and she really needed to rest. Exhaustion from a weekend of late nights and early mornings was creeping in on her. She wasn’t going to push herself to do too much when she had the entire week off.
She’d earned it.
She called her favorite restaurant, ordering enough food for lunch and dinner to go, then hanging up. It would be ready by the time she pulled into the parking lot at La Cabanita, and she knew the owner would run it out personally as soon as she pulled into the to-go spot. The day was looking up, and she couldn’t wait to get home and enjoy her mini vacation.
Maybe I should treat myself to a spa day, she thought, then remember the redness still lingering on her skin and tossed the idea. She would enjoy her stay-cation at home. She had plenty of time to go to the spa, and this time next year, she would have plenty of money to make it a regular thing. For today, everything was perfect, and she wasn’t going to ruin the beauty of the day by wanting more than she already had.
***
It was Thursday morning before Shawna finally made her way to the store after spending most of the week reading, relaxing and just enjoying the freedom. She’d never taken a vacation, and when she was between jobs, the stress of looking for another job was always too much to be able to enjoy any downtime that she had. But this was different. The check from Eric had cleared, and her account was now nearly seventy-thousand dollars. She found that until then, she hadn’t really been in the mood to shop. There was something about having more money than she normally made in a year in her account that made the prospect of shopping pleasant rather than nerve-wracking. That wasn’t to say that she was going to go on a spree, but she would certainly not be worrying about a few dollars difference between sheets when she had plenty of money to spend.
She decided to wear a dress. Dark green and flowy, the hem skimmed the ground and the capped sleeves and plunging neckline accentuated her cleavage. It was one of her favorite dresses, and her eyes always looked so much darker when she wore it. She felt delightfully feminine in this dress, and she wished it was office attire. She might wear it every day then.
Skipping underwear and feeling decidedly naughty, she chose a tan pair of strappy leather sandals, and quickly ran a brush through her hair. She topped off the look with a delicate pink gloss, smiling at her reflection in the mirror. She turned, gathering her skirt up and looking at her bare backside and frowning. The redness had faded, and she no longer had any outward sign of the weekend she’d shared with Eric. As silly as it was, the deep redness that had lingered for days made her memories feel more vibrant, and she longed for the feel of his lap beneath her and his leg wrapped around hers, holding her down.
She sighed. Monday, she reminded herself. On Monday morning, she would start work as his personal assistant, working six hours a day and likely doing about half the work she had done in the secretary pool. And she was getting paid so much more than she had before. It almost seemed too good to be true, but she was trying not to be cynical. Eric was a man of his word and a good man at that. He was as committed to seeing her dreams realized as she was, and he seemed to be getting more than enough out of it in return. She drove a hard bargain, but he was definitely happy with their arrangement.
She grabbed her keys and her purse, taking the stairs and getting into her car. She left the radio off as she had for the past few days, enjoying the quiet solitude. Her television hadn’t been turned on since she had returned from Vegas either, and the peace she was feeling was profound. She had spent her days reading, doing yoga, and taking long walks with nothing but her thoughts for company. As a result, she felt less stressed than she had in a while.
The sensual spankings helped, too, she mused, then laughed. A quick Google search had proven enlightening, and she had found dozens of articles that supported the euphoric calm she had felt after each trip over his lap.
She pulled into the parking lot of the mini mall that held a huge grocery store, a nail salon and the upscale linens store that she had planned to shop at. She parked between the linen store and the grocery store, making a mental note to drop her sheets off in the car when she was done and grab some groceries to restock her home.
Her trip to the linens store was quicker than she thought, and in under thirty minutes, the salesman was helping her out to her car with new pillows, sheets, and a down comforter that she couldn’t wait to sleep under. She thanked him for his help as she opened the trunk for him, then shut it and headed into the supermarket for her groceries.
There was a flash of light and a crack of thunder, and Shawna took off at a fast jog, eager to get into the store and out again before the rain started. She laughed to herself as the first drops fell out of
the sky right before she made it through the store. So much for beating the storm that rolled in without warning.
A man smiled at her as he stopped and gathered all his bags into two hands, winking as he spoke.
“If you don’t like the weather in Texas, just wait five minutes,” he said, and they both laughed.
She grabbed his empty cart and made quick work of filling it up with everything she needed, including a travel umbrella for her car.
Getting into the line, she smiled at a woman who turned to say hi, then did a double-take before turning her attention back to the groceries that she was loading onto the register belt.
The woman looked over her shoulder at Shawna a few more times, and Shawna looked down at her dress, wondering if the woman could tell that she was braless. Her dress had an extra fabric lining on the bust, and Shawna confirmed that nothing was visible through the fabric. The neckline was low, but not obscene, so Shawna wasn’t what the woman was looking at, but Shawna smiled every time the woman looked at her even though her smile was met with a sour expression.
I wonder what her problem is? Shawna thought, but she decided not to let the older woman’s sour demeanor ruin her day. Things were finally going great in her life, and whatever the woman was bothered by wasn’t Shawna’s problem.
As soon as the woman slapped down the divider, Shawna hurried to unload her cart, giving the woman plenty of space.
The older woman paid for her items and left, but not before casting one more withering look Shawna’s way. Shawna looked away, focusing on the stand of magazines instead, hoping that the woman would hurry up and leave.
It was then that she saw it. She gasped, reaching out and grabbing the tabloid closest to her and staring at the cover.
Mystery Woman Parties it up with Dallas’s Most Eligible Billionaire, the headline read. And right below it was a photo of Shawna and Eric going into the fundraising gala a few weeks before. The photo took up two-thirds of the page, and captured the exact moment that Eric had pressed his lips to her cheek sweetly. Shawna was positively glowing, and the text beneath the photo made all sorts of predictions regarding who she was and how she came to be with Eric without anyone realizing it earlier.
Her stomach dropped and she quickly flipped to the page that promised more exclusive pictures.
There were a lot of pictures. Not just at the gala, but telephotos from her apartment when Eric had dropped her off and picked her up, and a photo of her getting onto his private plane.
The pictures ended there, and Shawna breathed a sigh of relief, though the relief was short-lived. It was only a matter of time before there were more pictures, and who was to say that someone didn’t have pictures from their long weekend in Vegas and they just hadn’t made it to press in time?
Shawna put the tabloid down on the belt, then scanned the rack and picked up another magazine with a similar headline, and pictures from the same time period. She bought that one, too. Trying to keep it together until she paid for her things and left, she searched her wallet for her bank card, then swiped it through the machine as the cashier read her total to her.
The woman was looking at one of the tabloids and back at Shawna.
“Do you see it?” the woman asked lightly after she instructed Shawna to hit the green button.
“See what?”
The card reader made a noise and Shawna handed the card to the cashier, along with her driver’s license.
“This lady looks a lot like you. I mean, her profile does. You really can’t see her face clearly. If it were me, I would pretend I was this girl and trick my family.”
“You would?”
“Sure, why not? It’s not like you’re actually some high-end escort messing around with a notorious bachelor.”
“Why do you think she’s an escort?”
“She has to be. Eric Furst has been linked to some of the most powerful women in Dallas, and even a few Hollywood starlets. There’s no way he’d be going out with an unknown unless she was a call girl. That’s not how he operates.”
“You seem to know a lot about this man,” Shawna said, wishing that the woman would give back her cards so that she could leave.
“I have a bit of a crush on him. If I had known that he was into girls like this, I would have chosen another profession.”
Shawna blushed.
“I’m in a hurry,” she said.
The cashier looked at her, not saying a word for a full beat before she realized what Shawna wanted.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was so wrapped up in the moment, I forgot what I was doing for a minute.”
The cashier laughed and Shawna smiled tensely. Thanking the woman, she took back her bank card and driver’s license, then she pushed her basket out of the store hurriedly.
She was almost to the car when she heard someone calling out to her and she fought the urge to run the last few feet and jump in the car to speed away. Mustering her courage, she turned and saw that the cashier was running after Shawna with one of the tabloids that Shawna had purchased.
“I’m sorry, Ma’am. I didn’t realize I still had this in my hand,” she said, out of breath from running after Shawna. “You really do look like this woman. Too bad, because even though I would be jealous something fierce, you two would make a cute couple. You’re definitely prettier than this skank, if you ask me.”
No one asked you.
“Thanks,” Shawna said, taking the magazine and quickly loading her groceries in the back seat.
The cashier stood there staring at Shawna for a minute, and Shawna awkwardly smiled at the woman.
“Thank you again for bringing that magazine to me.”
“You’re welcome,” the woman said.
“I have to leave now. You have a great day.”
She didn’t wait for the woman to respond before she closed the door and started the engine. Shawna pulled away, careful of the woman who finally turned and walked back into the store. The rain had stopped some time when Shawna was inside, and the surprise storm had moved on. Only a light drizzle remained, and like most Texans, the cashier didn’t seem to mind as she walked unhurriedly back into the store.
Shawna couldn’t get out of that parking lot quick enough. Even though she knew it was silly, she felt like everyone was staring at her.
Suddenly, she felt self-conscious and wished she’d worn underwear. She headed straight home grabbing as many groceries as she could in one trip, then changing into yoga pants and a loose shirt before going back out to the car to unload everything else.
This time, she put underwear on.
***
Shawna was almost to her apartment door when she looked up and froze. Her neighbor, Mrs. Caffey, was standing in the hallway, and in her hand was one of the tabloids with her picture on the front of it.
Their eyes locked and Shawna gauged the distance from where she stood at the door and knew that she didn’t have a chance of making it before Mrs. Caffey started in on her. Blue haired and so old that even she had lost track, she knew that the old biddy was going to have something to say about the tabloid and Eric, and Shawna wasn’t sure she was up for it.
“I guess we know who the mystery man in the limo was,” Mrs. Caffey said without preamble.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Caffey,” Shawna said sweetly.
“I hope that you’re being careful with this man. He’s known to be a playboy.”
“You shouldn’t believe everything you read in the smut magazines,” Shawna said wryly, remember something her mother had said years before. “I hope you have a beautiful day.”
Before Mrs. Caffey could say anything else, Shawna slipped into her apartment and shut the door.
She turned the lock and slid the chain on, even though she rarely used more than the thumb lock on the handle during the day. A knock sounded on the door and Mrs. Caffey’s muffled words came through the wood.
“Don’t let that man break your heart. You’ll never get over it,” she warned through the locke
d door, and Shawna had the sudden urge to throw something at the door just for effect. Who did that woman think she was and why was her heart any of Mrs. Caffey’s business?
At least it’s only the paper tabloids, she thought, but even that didn’t give her much comfort.
She looked at the clock and realized that the Dallas Celebrity News Hour was about to come on, which really was a thinly veiled attempt at honest journalism from the very people who created and printed the tabloids in the first place. Still, she should watch the talk show. Maybe knowing that she wasn’t on it would make her feel better. They certainly had much bigger stories to run than whether or not Eric Furst had a girlfriend.
Sure that she was right, she turned on her television and flipped the channels until she found the show, sitting on the edge of the sofa and watching each story with rapt attention.
She was thinking that she was home free when the camera panned to one of the men in the back row of low cubicles, and in his hand, he held a picture of Shawna leaving her bank Monday.
What the hell was going on?
“And what do you have, Steve?” the host asked off camera.
“I have a picture of the mystery woman dating Eric Furst, and we have found out that her first name is Shawna.”
“It’s nice to have a name to put to the face, isn’t it?” the host said.
“There’s more,” Steve said, almost giddy with excitement.
“Go on,” the host pushed in their carefully scripted conversation.
“My contact at the bank tells me that Eric Furst wrote Ms. Shawna a sizable payroll check, and there’s speculation that she’s not his girlfriend, but a regular escort. It seems he favors this one woman and has hired her often enough that it’s putting a pretty sizable dent in his bank account.”
Shawna stared at the television, her mouth hanging open and the conversation between the two men fading into the background as she grappled with what she had just heard. This couldn’t be real life. This kind of thing didn’t happen to Shawna, and what was worse was that the tabloid had it all wrong. She wasn’t an escort; she was just a woman who was hanging out with a rich man to help fund her dreams and—
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