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I looked down at what was in my hand as if it contained a snake ready to bite. My heart raced thinking about what was inside. Opening it slowly, I reached in and pulled it out. Flipping through the pages, I found one with numbers on it. The appraisal wasn’t hard to find. It said that the building Remy had just given me was worth $1.5 million.
“Ahh,” I exhaled unable to breathe.
“Mr. Lyon also instructed me to give you this,” his lawyer said barely drawing my attention.
He was holding a business card. “He told me that you have an appointment with this person,” the lawyer said cryptically.
“When?” I said almost too stunned to take the card.
“I think he meant now.”
Leaving the office, I rushed to the address on the business card unsure of what I’d find. When I arrived, a chic woman introduced herself.
“Hi, I’m Melanie. I’ll be your personal shopper. Mr. Lyon asked me to dress you like a representative of the Lyon family,” she explained as if trying not to hurt my feelings.
I thought for a moment and then looked down at what I was wearing. Knowing I would need to dress professionally for Remy, I had gone to a discount department store. The clothes I bought there were the right size and had fit as they should.
My clothes had always been one of the things that had made me feel like Hil’s pet when we went out. He dressed like the son of a billionaire mafia boss, and I dressed like Waldo. There was no hiding the chasm that existed between us.
“Do you mind?” Melanie asked when she saw me hesitate.
“Not at all,” I replied as a lifetime of insecurity lifted from my shoulders.
Getting measured and trying on expensive clothing was a little intimidating at first. After all, most of the suits cost as much as a small car. What if I got it snagged on something? I would be in debt for the rest of my life.
But after a few hours of it, I had to admit that it became fun. A lifetime of insecurities melted away as I stared in the mirror at myself. And walking out with $20,000 worth of designer suits, I couldn’t help but feel that Remy was trying to tell me something… But what?
Arriving at the office the next day in a $3,000 outfit, I had to admit, it felt pretty good. I had expected no one else to see it until I switched on my computer and was flooded by calendar notifications.
As the day unfolded, architects, designers, and construction experts paraded through the office. Each one treated me like royalty. It was surreal. Then finally, when I couldn’t take it anymore, I asked one why they were acting like they were.
“Mr. Lyon told us he would pay for anything you choose and said it was vital that we make you happy,” the architect explained softly. “On that note, we brought you a sampling of pastries from Dominique’s. Would you care for one as we discuss the plans for the redesign?”
“Sure,” I said, still unable to wrap my head around what was going on.
The building, the clothes, everyone kissing my ass, why was Remy doing this? He had made it clear that he didn’t want to be with me. Was this his attempt to show me all of the reasons why? Was it to show that he could do all of this for me while I couldn’t do any of this for him? I didn’t understand.
The next week passed in a blur of appointments and decisions. Tired and unsure of what Remy’s endgame was, I continued making choices for the outreach center as if I owned the place. There seemed to be no end to the people I needed to talk to. And even though my meetings ended promptly at 6 whether we were done with our discussion or not, I still spent the rest of the night at the office looking up all of the words they said that I didn’t understand. I was dead to the world as I rode the train home.
All that continued until the day I returned to the office and saw that my first appointment was after work hours. There was something that told me that this was it. When I stepped into wherever it was, I was going to find Remy. He would be waiting for me, armed with his devilish smirk and as charming as ever.
How would I respond to that? Yeah, the clothes and the building were great. It felt life-changing. But I hadn’t asked him for any of it.
All I had ever wanted was for him to love me. To hold me and tell me that he would be there for me. I couldn’t give him a pass for all of the things he had done just because he had gotten me a few gifts. I couldn’t. And he was going to find that out tonight.
As my day ended, I readied myself to see Remy for the first time in weeks. I hardened my resolve. He wasn’t going to like what I had to say. It might actually lead to the end of us. The final end. The one we couldn’t come back from.
And, as much as I knew that could be the case, I couldn’t deny how good it would feel to see him again. He was a complete asshole for doing what he had to me. But, I missed him. The way he looked at me made me feel seen. Remy had a way of making me feel like the most important person in the world. It was a drug that was hard to quit.
Approaching the address, it turned out to be a posh apartment complex in downtown Brooklyn. Had he invited me to his love nest? Was everything he had bought me his way of seducing me? Was that all I was to him – a hook-up?
Stepping off the elevator into one of the fanciest apartments I had ever seen, I looked around for who I was sure was waiting for me.
“Remy?” I asked an empty room.
Slowly circling the place, awestruck by its beauty, it didn’t take me long to spot the driftwood dining table and the note tented on top of it. Facing me was my name. Opening it as I picked it up, I recognized the handwriting.
‘Consider this a perk of the job. No more late-night train rides. Enjoy your new place. Remy’
