Blood Type (Blood Type #1)(12)
Which was just fine by her.
With him gone for the day that meant she could go see her brothers. It would be a quick trip. No more than three or four hours. She would be back before Beckham even knew she had left the city.
Not that he had said that she couldn’t leave. In fact, he had specifically said that she could. However, it didn’t make her any less frightened about what he would do if she did something else that displeased him. Wearing her old clothes had almost set him off. He was a ticking time bomb, and she was worried that she would end up on the wrong end of his explosion.
Still she had to see her brothers. She would just make sure she didn’t break any of his rules, and she would be golden.
She jotted out a text to Beckham. The buttons were hard to manage, and she had to backtrack a dozen times before she got the message right.
Going out. Won’t be gone long. Bringing phone and card.
A message returned from him almost immediately. How the hell did he type that fast?
Call my driver, Gerard. He will take you anywhere in the city. If you go shopping for new clothes charge them on the card. I don’t want you in anything cheap. Do you understand?
Yes.
Good. Don’t be late tonight. We need to talk.
She gulped. Talk. That couldn’t be good. Is he already upset with me? Or was that some kind of code for him wanting to eat? Either way she would find out tonight. He wouldn’t be back until later, which gave her plenty of time to see her brothers and get back for their talk.
Finding a black cross-body purse in her closet, she placed her cellphone and the precious black card in the bag. The only shoes in the whole closet that weren’t four to six-inch stiletto high heels were a nude wedge. They would have to do. She knew she should call Beckham’s driver, but Beckham had said that the driver would take her anywhere in the city. Where she wanted to go was out of the city. If she had enough money to buy expensive clothes, then she had enough to take a cab in and out of the city.
With that settled, she took the elevator downstairs. Judging by the looks from the people around her, it was clear that no one recognized her as the woman Beckham had brought back with him last night. Somehow in the course of an evening she managed to meet their high standards. A woman even looked envious of her ridiculous wedge heels. What she wouldn’t do for a pair of tennis shoes right now!
The valet snapped to attention when he saw her. “May I help you, ma’am?”
Ma’am. Holy shit!
“Um…I need a cab?”
The valet whistled, and a black Town Car pulled up in front of the building.
“Is that…is that a cab?” she asked him hesitantly. “I thought they were yellow.”
He eyed her curiously. “Only the best for our Visage clients.”
“Oh. Well…do you mind me asking you how much it is?”
God, she felt stupid for asking, but she wasn’t sure she could afford a Town Car for such a long drive in and out of the city.
“You’re new here, aren’t you?” he asked, smiling politely. He didn’t look at her like she was an idiot at all. It was nice to have someone treat her kindly after tiptoeing around Beckham.
“Yes,” she breathed. “Is it that obvious?”
“Just a bit. I’m Everett.”
“Reyna.” They shook hands, and she breathed a sigh of relief for finding an ounce of humanity in this situation.
“Well, don’t worry about the cab. It’s all billed to your room. You have a card?” She produced the black card, and he whistled low.
“What?”
“Those are unlimited cards.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
He frowned at her apologetically. “A black card. It means you have unlimited funds.”
Her eyes widened, and she blinked rapidly a few times. That couldn’t be right. No way. She was getting paid for this. She wasn’t just being given access to Beckham’s immense wealth.
“I think you’re mistaken.”
His smile returned. “You’re probably right.”
But she knew he was lying.
“After you.” He opened the door for her, and she yanked her skirt down as she sat into the leather interior.
“Thanks.”
He smiled again. “Nice to meet you, Reyna.”
“You too, Everett.”
“Where to, miss?” the driver asked.
“Warehouse District, fifty-four Boulevard East.”
His eyebrows rose at the address. He was obviously wondering why a woman leaving this residence, dressed to the nines, was going to a run-down suburb.
“Just tap your card on the screen and we’ll begin.”
She removed the black card, wondering all the while if what Everett said was true. She stared at the computer display in the back of the Town Car, and then did as instructed. Once her card hit the monitor, it lit up.
Beckham Anderson
Reyna Carpenter
Visage Incorporated
Unlimited
Her jaw went slack.
And then the numbers started ticking up. She watched as the cost for the ride increased dramatically. More money than she or her brothers had seen in a lifetime was now being used for one car ride out of the city. Unbelievable.