A Bona Fide Gold Digger (17 page)

M
ilan expected to be ecstatic when Gerard finally summoned her, but she was far from thrilled. In fact, she was profoundly disappointed when, instead of inviting her to his home, Gerard told her to meet him at the gym in Ardmore, the same gym where they’d met. She’d been looking forward to some uninterrupted private time with him, not grunting and sweating amidst a large group of anonymous people. And she positively did not relish the idea of another encounter with that little snob, Casey. Hopefully the spoiled-brat receptionist was back at school or on a ski trip in Aspen or wherever little rich bitches spent their time.

No such luck. Perched behind the desk was none other than the utterly detestable redhead.
Doesn’t she ever go to school?
Milan wondered in agitation.

“I’m supposed to meet Gerard here,” Milan said. She hated having to address the bone-thin brat.

“Name?” Casey asked, curtly.

Milan frowned. “Milan Walden.”

Casey perused a large black appointment book. “He wants you to wait for him in the consultation room,” Casey said, her lips pursed with animosity as she pointed at an open door across the room.

Milan’s scowl deepened. She would have loved to get ghetto on Casey. Keeping her hostility in check and her head held high, Milan turned away.

“Excuse me,” Casey said in a snooty voice.

Sighing, Milan spun around. “Yes, what is it?”

“The consultation isn’t free, ya know.” She sounded snippy. “It’s two hundred dollars. You’re assigned to two consultants. That’ll be four hundred dollars.”

“Two consultants?”

Casey gave her a sideways glance. “Is that a problem? I can cancel, ya know.”

“No, no. I wasn’t expecting two consultants.” Hell, she wasn’t expecting a consultation at all. Hadn’t he already done a full body scan in his basement gym? But if Gerard felt she needed a second consultation, she had no choice but to go along with his request.

“Cash, check, or credit card?”

Milan paid in cash. Looking for Gerard and the mysterious second consultant, Milan scanned the room as she moved with lead feet toward the consultation room.

The wait inside the sparsely furnished room seemed endless. Milan apparently spent more time waiting for Gerard than actually being in his presence.

At last the door opened. To Milan’s astonishment, Gerard entered with Ming. “How’s it going, Milan?” Gerard asked. Ming, carrying a clipboard, was decked out in stunning pink activewear. Why the hell did Gerard bring his disarmingly pretty student along?

Responding to her look of bafflement, Gerard explained, “Ming recently received her personal training certification. She’ll shadow me for a few weeks and then spread her wings,” Gerard said, nodding at Ming proudly.

Milan felt deflated, like she’d been punched in the face, kicked in the stomach, and stabbed in the back all at the same time. What was going on here? According to her bejeweled left hand, Ming was married. But were Gerard and Ming having an affair? She needed to know. “Are you and Ming, um…?”

“Partners?” Gerard filled in.

Milan nodded dumbly.

“No, not yet. Ming is married to the guy who owns this place.” Gerard and Ming laughed. Excluded from the inside joke, Milan gave a tight smile. “But in the near future, she’s going to be opening her own personal training center with a team of experienced and highly qualified trainers, and we’ll be working together as partners. She’ll bring the capital, I’ll bring my extensive expertise,” Gerard responded while Ming silently beamed.

“You’re married to the owner? The receptionist, uh, the redhead is your daughter?”

“Casey’s my prize possession. She’s my stepdaughter,” Ming said crisply.

Before Milan could process the information, Gerard murmured to Ming. “Okay, we’ll start the assessment.”

“I need you to undress,” Ming told Milan.

Milan shot her a searing gaze, then turned a softer look toward Gerard. “Is this necessary? You already told me which areas of my body needed work.”

Gerard’s face darkened. Remembering how seriously he took fitness, she was sorry she’d opened her mouth. “But I guess there’s no harm in a second look.” She chuckled, feeling like a complete fool as she came out of her coat. With Gerard and Ming staring at her, she felt clumsy and awkward as she stripped down to her bra and panties. Ming’s presence in the consultation room humiliated Milan in a way that did not bring on any sexual urges.

“I want you to mark the areas on her body that need work.” Gerard handed Ming a black marker pen and took the clipboard from her hand. Milan wanted to recoil but determinedly stood tall.

With her brow furrowed, Ming studied Milan as if she were an inanimate object. She placed Xs on both Milan’s shoulders and then searched Gerard’s face. He nodded his approval. She put a big X on the center of Milan’s chest. Stepping back to inspect Milan from a different perspective, she came forward, her expression intense as she vigorously marked Milan’s stomach, hips, and thighs. Milan could have cried from mortification.

“Turn around,” Ming said sharply. To prove to Gerard that she was serious about fitness, Milan obeyed the Asian bitch’s stern order. She flinched at the feeling of the cold marker tip as Ming drew Xs up and down the length of her back. Milan prayed Gerard had not given Ming an indelible marker.

“Pull down your panties, I want to take a look at your gluteus maximus—the largest muscle in your body.”

Milan’s face grew hot with embarrassment. She cut her eyes at Gerard.

“She has to assess your body, Milan. Do as she says.”

Cringing, Milan pulled down her panties.

“Clench your glutes,” Ming demanded.

Milan quickly obeyed, tightening her butt muscles.

“She doesn’t have much of a butt,” Ming remarked with a tsk. “Unclench,” she ordered. Again, Milan did as she was told. “It’s small but saggy,” Ming told Gerard, disgust coating her words. She marked each butt cheek with long angry strokes.

“All right, cover your butt,” Ming said snippily. She gave a soft but disrespectful smack to Milan’s ass. With a flurry of Xs, she finished off the back of Milan’s thighs and legs. “Put your clothes on,” Ming barked.

While Gerard and Ming observed her, Milan got dressed. Hurriedly, she stuck her legs into her sweats, pulled her top over her head. Had Milan been light complexioned like Sweetie, her face would be a bright red. Mercifully, her dark complexion hid her burning shame.

“Great job, Ming,” Gerard told the Asian woman.

“Thank you,” Ming sang the two words as she snapped the cap on the marker pen.

“Milan,” Gerard said, “congratulations, you’re in.” He gave her a big smile. “You’ve proven yourself. I’ll train you in my home gym. As I told you, my fee is one hundred and seventy per session. You’ll need at least three sessions a week. We don’t need a contract, do we?”

“No, I won’t miss a session,” Milan said eagerly.

“Cool. I’ll see you tomorrow at noon.”

She’d endured Ming’s cold pen and stinging criticism. And now she’d finally have Gerard all to herself. For Milan, tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough.

With dollar signs in her eyes Milan paid Noah a late-night visit. She skipped into his bedroom suite dressed in a frilly yellow polka-dot dress with white ruffled anklets.

Having to pay Gerard a little over five hundred a week would deplete her savings in no time. Noah was going to have to supplement her income. Discussing money with Noah had become quite awkward, but she sincerely hoped they could work out a payment arrangement.

Noah didn’t so much as blink or nod in approval when she approached dressed in the fantasy costume. She hated it when he didn’t respond appropriately to the effort she put into fulfilling his perverted desires. The man had such gall.

“I noticed a great deal of dust while dining downstairs this afternoon. It appears the house isn’t being properly cared for. Perhaps doing housework as well as preparing meals is overwhelming for poor Irma,” Noah stated when Milan entered his room. She hadn’t planned on discussing the appearance of his home and she couldn’t have cared less about Irma’s work load.

“You’re absolutely right. I’ll look into a cleaning service tomorrow,” Milan said, quickly.

“Good idea. Now, when is your ring being delivered? You should contact the jeweler and tell him to put a rush on the order.”

Milan regarded Noah with a look of bafflement. Since when was he interested in anything that concerned the wedding other than trying to entangle her into an absurd legal commitment to bear his child?

Responding to her perplexed expression, Noah said, “I had a telephone call today.”

Milan’s ears perked up. She was relieved that he’d finally decided to shed some light on his clandestine phone calls.

“I invited my dearest friends, a chap named Hayden McIntyre and his wife, Emma, to our wedding. They’re prominent people, very influential, and Hayden has agreed to be my best man. Knowing that my time is limited…” Noah Brockington sighed, closed his eyes, and wrung his hands as if he now dreaded the imminent death he’d claimed to have made peace with. “Hayden was rather taken aback when I told him we hadn’t set a definite date.” Noah waited for Milan to respond. She didn’t. She was too stunned to speak. Noah had friends! That dear friends had materialized out of the blue and were attending their private ceremony was a bit unsettling, to say the least.

“With your numerous absences,” Noah went on, “I wasn’t sure when we’d be able to discuss our wedding plans, so I took the liberty of setting a date. I’ve selected the third Saturday of next month. Hayden and Emma will be flying in from London the night before the wedding.”

Three weeks!
“Yes, um, I suppose, that date will work,” she replied, her speech faltering. How dare he set a date without her consent! The time frame was absurd. And who the hell were these dear friends of his? He’d never mentioned them before.
Hmm.
On second thought, as long as they weren’t money-grubbing relatives who intended to cut into her inheritance, Milan decided not to concern herself about the British couple.

She hadn’t come to Noah’s bedroom to discuss their wedding. She’d come to seduce him, to wheedle him out of a couple thousand to pay for extended playtime with Gerard. With money on her mind, Milan took a seat on the side of Noah’s bed and stroked his arm. “I’ll get in touch with the jeweler, but I want you to promise me you’ll save your strength and let me worry over the ceremony. It’s customary for the groom to be spared all the pre-wedding drama.” Milan hopped off the bed and twirled around. “Do you like my pretty dress?” she asked in a girlish voice.

“It’s adorable,” Noah said absently. He pulled out a yellow legal pad and a pen from beneath his massive heap of pillows. “I suppose we’ll need a matching set of wedding bands,” he said, jotting down a list of wedding essentials. “Have the jeweler pay us a visit. I’ll need to be sized, and of course I’ll want to take part in the selection. I want something with a vintage look.”

Milan couldn’t believe her ears. Why should Noah care about his wedding ring—a ring that she intended to slip off his finger and sell on eBay the moment he was pronounced dead?

“If the engagement ring you’ve chosen doesn’t match our vintage bands, I’m afraid we’ll have to make another selection for you, my dear.”

Noah’s sudden show of interest in the wedding was more than annoying, it was despicable. Wasn’t his insistence that she bear his mutant spawn more than enough involvement? Now it appeared that in order to show off for his dear friends, he intended to overstep his boundaries and completely take over the planning of the wedding. Weird! But what could she expect from a nutcase like Noah?

Then Milan felt a flash of appreciation. Despite having to wear rings of Noah’s choosing, a speedy wedding meant she’d have her hands on Noah’s money a lot sooner than the projected date. Of course, she’d have to wait for him to croak to get the whole enchilada, but in the meantime she’d be entitled to a wife’s spending rights.

It appeared that trying to keep up with Ming would be a costly enterprise. Milan had wanted to puke when Gerard announced that he would be spending an enormous amount of time with Ming after they opened their training center.
Their training center!
Envy burned her cheeks. Considering that she aspired to open her own day spa, she felt she’d handled the dreadful news extremely well. It would have been an incredible coup for Milan to have Gerard as
her
business partner. His expertise would be a great benefit to her and additionally, he’d be delicious eye candy for her clientele.

Ming had her husband’s money at her disposal, enough money to lure Gerard into a partnership. But once Milan received her inheritance from Noah’s estate, she’d finagle him away from Ming’s training center. In the meantime, she thought with a great sigh, she’d have to haggle over every dollar she extracted from her tightwad fiancé.

“Darling,” Milan said, dragging out the word and using a whiny tone. “Let’s discuss the wedding tomorrow. I want to have some fun tonight.” Slowly and seductively, she lifted the frilly yellow dress.

Noah reluctantly stopped writing and pulled his eyes away from the writing pad. “Not tonight,” he said tersely. “I’m busy attending to matters that should have been handled weeks ago.” He returned his attention to his notes. “Have you contacted a florist?” he asked without looking up.