Page 36 of Passion and Privilege

“See you later, Catherine.”

I headed into town to run errands before meeting with Amber. When I stepped into her modest storefront, I was surprised to find Bennet waiting for me. “Bennet?” I said, wondering why he was in Amber’s store.

“Timothy tried to talk to you at the manor, but you had already left for the day,” he explained. “He wanted me to find you and get this to you.”

Amber was leaning against the wall, watching the exchange.

“What is it?” I asked.

Bennet handed me a sleek, black platinum card. I immediately tried to give it back. “What’s this? If he wants to pay for Amber’s services, she’ll send an invoice.”

“It’s not for Amber,” he said. “It’s for you. It’s not for work.”

“I don’t understand,” I said and looked at Amber for help.

She looked just as shocked as I did.

“Timothy said he wanted you to use it for hair, nails, a dress, and so on,” Bennet said.

“What?” I gasped. “What are you talking about?”

“I understand the two of you have a date,” Bennet said.

“No.” I shook my head. I attempted to give the card back, not wanting to accept such extravagant generosity. “I can’t accept. Please tell him thank you, but no thank you. I wasn’t sure he still wanted to go.”

“He does.”

“Okay, but I can do my own nails,” I argued. “I don’t need his black card.”

“Timothy insisted and specifically instructed me to tell you not to fight it. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but my boss is very accustomed to getting what he wants. He wants you to have this card. If you reject it, I promise you he will find another way. I would not put it past him to have you physically dragged to the salon and chained to the chair.”

I stared at Bennet. His deadpan expression didn’t give anything away. I sighed and finally accepted the card from him, still feeling extremely uncomfortable with the idea.

“But tell him I’m paying for my own dress,” I said with determination.

Bennet chuckled, apparently finding amusement in my stubbornness. “I’ll relay your terms to him, but don’t count on winning that battle.”

“I think you guys might be underestimating me,” I replied.

“Tim’s going to pick you up tomorrow at two,” Bennet added. “Enjoy shopping.” He turned and walked out without another word.

Left alone with Amber, I showed her the card. She stared at it in disbelief. “This is insane,” she remarked with wide eyes. “Timothy really does want to impress you.”

“I don’t know what the hell just happened,” I said.

“What the hell is going on, Catherine?” Amber asked. “You have a date with him?”

I took a deep breath, trying to collect my thoughts. “I told Timothy about Scott’s wedding invitation. We were commiserating over cheating exes. He said he would go with me to the wedding. I did object but he insisted. And then it was never mentioned again so I thought it might have just been a joke.”

“Holy shit,” she gasped. “You’re actually going to his wedding?”

“No. I mean, yes. I don’t know. I didn’t plan on it.”

“You are and you have zero time to waste,” she said, laughing. “We have appointments to make for tomorrow morning, and you need a dress.”

“I’ll just wear a dress I already have,” I said, shrugging. “I’m not dressing up for Scott’s wedding.”

Amber gave me a sharp look. “He gave you that card to use and you’re going to use it. It’s not about dressing up for Scott. You’re dressing up for your very handsome, rich boss that wants to take you out. And seriously, showing up to his wedding looking like a million bucks is the ultimate revenge. You need a revenge dress and I know you don’t have one of those in your closet.”