Billionaire's Escort

Chapter nine

Kimberly's POV

All night I had tossed and turned. I didn’t find any peace knowing very well that I would have to face him in the morning. One part of me hoped that he wouldn’t remember anything that happened since he got home while another small part of me hoped that he would. Maybe then he would stop seeing me as only the w***e he paid to spend the week. Maybe see that I was actually a human being who didn’t just want to take advantage of someone’s drunken state. But that was a small chance considering the amount of alcohol he had. I sighed looking at the clock. 

03:12.

I would have to get up in 4 hours to get ready for the brunch. A brunch I had no idea how would turn out. I was nervous obviously, seeing as this normally wasn’t in my job description, but also because I was scared that someone might recognize me. Not as a w***e, but as Kimberly Reese. My family had once been well known to the public, and my father's scandal was even more known. My mom had done her best to keep me out of it, so I was never really mentioned in any of the tabloids, but that didn’t mean that people didn’t know. And that was terrifying. The not knowing. If I didn’t know, I couldn’t prepare myself. I had debated on telling Landon about it but I was so sure he would only laugh in my face, telling me how big of a liar I was or that he couldn’t use someone like me after all. It wouldn’t surprise me if that was the case. Just like I did back then, I was still paying for my father’s crimes. 

When the clock had turned 6 AM I decided to take a shower and dress myself. There was no need for me to even try to get just a single hour of sleep. It had shown to be absolutely impossible. My thoughts wouldn’t take a break no matter how hard I tried. 

After my shower, I noticed that Landon was still asleep. No surprise there, but instead of waking him, I began preparing breakfast for us. 

I was singing in the kitchen, trying not to be too loud when someone suddenly spoke.

“What is all this?” a groggy morning voice said. 

And there he was, in all of his glory, in his grey sweatpants and without a shirt on. 

“This is breakfast,” I said and forced myself to look away. “I thought you could use some after your… festive activities yesterday.”

I tried to be as calm about it as possible on the outside, but on the inside, I was screaming. I bit the inside of my cheek as I served him a plate. He hadn’t said anything at all since he entered the kitchen and he still didn’t. Maybe he just forgot. Maybe he didn’t want to discuss last night's events. 

I let out a breath I hadn’t noticed I was holding in as I took place in front of him with my own plate and dug in. 

“Thank you,” he said in a low voice sounding almost regretful. 

“It’s nothing really,” I shrugged.   

“Not for the food,” he said and I looked up. 

Oh god. 

“For… yesterday,” he said clearing his throat. 

“Oh.” 

I didn’t know what to say but seriously? Oh? That was the best I could come up with? I mentally kicked myself as I still stared at him. 

“I’m sorry,” I blurted to which he looked extremely confused. “For letting it get that far,” I explained as a blush crept on my face as I remembered just how far I had actually let it go. 

He looked at me as if I had three heads before he gave me a warm smile that melted away all the nervosity I had. 

“You are apologizing? When I should be the one apologizing to you,” he said as he shook his head. 

I must have looked utterly confused because when his eyes met mine, he sighed and sat up straight, letting his fork be on the plate. 

“I left you here without any reason or knowledge as to when I would be back. And then when I get back, I’m so piss drunk that I throw myself at you and…” he trailed off. 

A flash of guilt ran over his features and I swear I had to pinch myself. 

“And I called you a w***e,” he continued. “Again.”

“Well…” I said while straightening in my seat. “I am a whore.” 

I didn’t know why, but that look on his face made my heart ache. I shouldn’t and yet I tried to make him feel better. 

“You’re not.”

I just stared at him. Again, not knowing what to say. What the hell was wrong with me.

“A w***e would have taken the opportunity given to her. A w***e would have let me continue and spread her legs for me without hesitation and without giving my wishes or our contract a second thought. You didn’t,” he said as he stuffed a piece of pancake in his mouth. “This is f*****g good; did you really make it?”

“Yeah,” I said struggling to find my words. “I used to help cooking at home so I learned a lot.”

“From your mother?” he asked. 

“No from- yes,” I said quickly. 

I realized what I was almost saying and that could not happen. However, I trusted him for some odd reason but a part of me told me to keep quiet. 

“I’ll go get myself a shower and get ready,” I said and got up before he could protest. 

I basically ran to my room and shut the door before leaning against the wall taking a few deep breaths. This would be okay. It was just going to be another brunch, with normal people and no one in sight that would know who I was. 

I kept telling myself that as I rinsed my body clean from the soap. The entire bathroom smelled like mango’s when I was done, just like I did. I was going to miss all of this when the week had passed, I knew that, but now that I had the chance to enjoy it, I didn’t want to waste a second. 

I grabbed my towel and wrapped it around me just as I heard a knock on my door. 

“Come in,” I yelled. 

“Kimberly?” Landon’s voice rang through my room. 

“Bathroom.”

A second later he was standing in the doorway watching me in the mirror.

“I forgot to give this to you,” he said and handed me a big box. 

“What is it?” I asked, eyeing the box.

“I got you a dress for today,” he explained while scratching the back of his head. “You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to and if you don’t like it, we can return it and get it exchanged.”

He rambled on and it was almost as if he seemed nervous. 

I opened the lit of the box and was met white laced summer dress. It had a sweetheart neckline and thin straps holding the dress in place. The inside of the dress was pure silk while the top layer was lace. It was simple yet radiant. It was beautiful. 

“Thank you,” I whispered as I placed it in front of me for me to see in the mirror. 

“It’s nothing,” he said and offered me a smile. “I’ll let you get dressed.”

What seemed to him as a small gesture was to me, a big one. He had used some of his time, taking it out of his busy schedule, to buy me a dress to wear for brunch. Either that or he had sent one of his men for it, but to me, that didn’t matter.

I quickly did my hair, drying and straightening it before putting on a bit of blush and mascara. I didn’t want to overdo it. I’d much rather keep it simple. 

I put the dress on and watched as the bottom of the dress flowed around my legs. On the top it fit me like a glove, perfectly fitting my curves as if they had been carved out of stone. It was gorgeous in every way. I fumbled around a bit with the zipper, longer than I needed to until I called for backup.

“Landon?” I called through the door. 

“Yeah?”

“I need help,” I admitted and watched as he came to my rescue. “I can’t zip it,” I said slowly. 

“Turn around,” he chuckled. 

The cut on the back of the dress stopped in the middle and left the top of my back bare. His cold fingers ran over my skin as he zipped the dress and afterward adjusted the straps, his fingers lingering on my skin a little longer than necessary. 

“There you go.”

The sudden loss of his touch made me turn around, to be met with his wondering gaze. 

“You look beautiful,” he smiled. 

“Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself,” I snickered. 

“Getting cheeky huh? It suits you,” he smirked. 

“I have to when I’m in your pleasant company,” I chuckled. 

A silence was put between us until he chose to speak. 

“Are you okay? You seemed off this morning. Did I do something to you yesterday that I have no memory of?”

“No, you didn’t,” I assured him. “I’m just nervous,” I said as I tucked one of my fingers. 

An old habit I had a hard time putting away. 

“They will love you, don’t worry.”

For a moment everything seemed normal. As if we were yet another normal couple and I was yet another normal girlfriend who would meet her in-laws for the first time. Just for a moment, it was all normal, so normal that it seemed real. But if there was one thing I had learned in life, it was that every moment would eventually pass and reality would kick back in.