Chapter 27

Crystal
Crystal was standing out front of her apartment complex, contemplating what to do. After the whole ‘anal’ fight with Matt, she’d finally had enough. The boy was too much work—she was done putting up with his childish shit. She spotted David and his security person entering the building, all dressed up.

Crystal noted how happy he looked. And if what she heard every afternoon was what she thought it was, he had every right to be. The problem was, his happiness was at the root of her troubles. It made Crystal realize she didn’t need to settle for someone like Matt. She should look for a man who was everything she wanted.

But right now, her biggest concern was living arrangements. She couldn’t spend another moment in that apartment with Matt, and without him, she couldn’t afford to live there. Her father controlled the purse strings and only allocated so much for rent.

If she moved out, the fallout was that Matt couldn’t afford the rent, either. That was going to leave Taylor in a bind. Talking to Taylor about the situation was at the top of her priority list.

But worse than that was the thought of having to move back in with her mom; it made her stomach knot up. Living with her dad was out of the question. Her best option might be to live out of her car until school started in the fall.

To her surprise, David came back out, looking unhappy. She noted the girl with him had a stern expression as well.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing.” He shrugged, and his smile returned. “Just a stupid thought.”

“I’m sure it has plenty of company,” she quipped.

“Good one. Okay, I know we don’t particularly like each other, but I was wondering if you had any plans for the rest of the day?” David asked.

“Why do you ask?”

“I made arrangements to fly Colleen to San Francisco for dinner at a fancy sushi restaurant. I understand they fly in their seafood from Japan each day.”

“Are you referring to The Shota?” Crystal asked. David nodded ‘yes.’ “I’ve always wanted to go there.”

She’d heard her dad rave about the place. While she hadn’t ever tried sushi, it sounded like something to get her mind off her current troubles.

“It’s your lucky day. Would you like to accompany me? While I love Ruth’s company, I have reservations for three,” he said.

“Is that why you’re all dressed up?”

“I can dress up in a monkey suit and wave my little hat around with the best of them,” he said.

“I’d love to,” she said and then frowned. “But I don’t have anything to wear.”

She expected David to ask why, but he surprised her.

“Details. Why don’t I take you shopping and buy you a dress?” David asked.

“I couldn’t...”

David leaned in close.

“I have to buy Ruth one, anyway. If I say we’re shopping for you, she might go along with it,” he stage-whispered.

Ruth’s eyes narrowed, but it didn’t seem to faze him.

“Just say ‘yes,’” David pressed.

She could only think of one reason why she shouldn’t.

“What about Colleen?”

She saw a flicker of irritation, but he gave her a sad smile.

“We’re through. What about Matt?”

“I broke up with him.”

“Perfect. I think we both need to get out of town,” David said as he started for the car.

Crystal hurried to catch up. She noted that he’d driven his Porsche SUV. This was much nicer than walking with Matt.

Crystal hadn’t realized David would be the pilot when he’d said ‘fly’ her to San Francisco. He went through his flight checklist while she and Ruth got comfortable in the cabin.

“When he went into the apartment building, David looked happy. Is there a chance he and Colleen will get back together?”

From Ruth’s body language, Crystal could tell the answer was ‘no way in hell.’

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I really can’t discuss anything involving David.”

“Can you say anything about Colleen?”

Ruth gave her a curious look as she thought it through.

“I’ll just say that she’ll regret her choice.”

“She dumped him?!” Crystal asked as she jumped to the correct conclusion.

Ruth looked out the window and wouldn’t answer her. David boarded the plane and went into the cockpit.

The two girls officially introduced themselves.

“Ruth.”

“Crystal.”

Then they fell silent as the plane taxied to the runway and took off.

If her mom knew that David A. Dawson was whisking her away to San Francisco to have dinner at The Shota, she would be elated. Her mother had grown up dirt poor. She’d always drummed into Crystal that the most critical criterion in finding a man was the size of his wallet or the potential for a payday.

After dating Matt, Crystal had begun to question that approach.

Her grandfather had always said, “You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go, and see what happens.”

Crystal had zero expectations for tonight. Knowing that let her relax.

“How is it, working for David?”

“It’s been interesting. I suspect that come the end of summer, I’ll be reassigned. The only security work I’ve really done was a couple of parties and the random high school girl who shows up on his doorstep,” Ruth shared.

“High school girls?”

“Yeah, they have a crush on him, and just know that if they could meet, he’d realize they’re meant to be together.”

“I bet being around him for a bit would shatter that illusion,” Crystal said.

“I don’t know about that. I had a crush on David before taking the assignment, and I found he wasn’t exactly what I expected. He’s actually better.

“I’ve been security for a few Hollywood types, and David is nothing like them. Yes, he likes sex, but I never saw him go after another woman once he was with Colleen. I mean, he is a flirt, but it’s never creepy, if you know what I mean,” Ruth said.

“I’m dreading being single again. By now, I think I’ve heard nearly every pickup line known to man. I wish I could be single and not have anyone chase me.”

“Personally, I’ve never had that problem. I’ve seen David deal with it, though. I swear he’s coated in Teflon. When women hit on him, he acts like he doesn’t even notice, but he does it with a smile that leaves them okay with the rejection.”

“Unfortunately, that doesn’t work with drunk frat boys. I’ve had more than one attempt to force the issue,” Crystal said.

“That’s terrible, ma’am.”

“They came to their senses when I explained that no sorority would ever allow them or their fraternity brothers to darken their doors again if that was how they treated women. None of them wanted to be the guy who screwed all his frat brothers just to get into my pants.”

The intercom came on.

“We’ll be landing in ten minutes, so buckle up.”

David had hired a limo for the day. Once they got settled, he had some news.

“I called a friend and told her you two needed dresses. She called in a favor and found a fashion stylist who’s meeting us. I also said you might need some other things as well, so if you like something, get it.”

’Hey, I know how to shop and dress myself, all right?!’ Crystal thought. But the more she mulled it over, the more excited she became.

When they were almost to the store, David got a call.

“Hey, thanks for calling me. Who was that guy?”

Crystal saw his eyebrows go together, and he closed his eyes and sighed.

“Thanks, Gail.”

She knew that was Colleen’s roommate.

“I’m sorry it didn’t work out, too. Ruth wants to know if she can come over and hang out with you and watch TV,” David said as he glanced at his security gal.

She took it well. Crystal mused that Ruth must be used to David joking around.

“Sounds good. Maybe we can have lunch now and then.”

He hung up.

“So, who was that guy?” Ruth asked.

“Her ex-fiancé.”

Ruth just nodded.

David decided to remain in the car while Crystal and Ruth met Kelly. The woman was the dream shopping companion.

While Kelly ran around the store, finding stuff for them to try on, Crystal had a question for Ruth.

“Did he mean it when he said to buy whatever we want?”

“I asked our roommate the very same question about groceries. David allows her to order anything she wants and has it delivered. She told me that he likes doing stuff like that for people. What he hates is them questioning him about his generosity. She told me that if David has a problem with something, he’ll let you know.

“I’ve come to take him at his word. Still, I would caution you not to go too overboard,” Ruth said.

“I don’t want to go back to my place just yet, and I didn’t bring any clothes.”

“Then I’ll buy some extra items, too. David’s always teasing me about looking ‘too professional,’” Ruth said.

“Thank you.”

They didn’t find the dresses for the evening at the first place, so Kelly led them to the limo and had the driver deposit what they’d bought so far in the trunk. She climbed into the limo as if she belonged.

“Adrienne told me you needed my help, too. Is the jacket two or three years old?” she asked David.

He looked up from his phone and smiled.

“Two. It’s a Dakora.”

“And two years ago, you were thinner. We need to get you into something that shows off your muscles.”

He tilted his head and then gave her a big smile.

“I probably do need a few odds and ends. My mom is planning something for my birthday. I bet she expects me to look nice.”

Kelly gave him a once-over and nodded. It was lucky they had four hours to kill before dinner.

Crystal leaned over and asked David in a low voice, “Adrienne? Who’s Adrienne?”

“You’ve never heard of Adrienne? The supermodel?”

Crystal’s eyes widened.

“You know Adrienne?!”

“Sure. I’ll tell you all about it later.”

Kelly declared that they looked like a million bucks. Crystal and Ruth were in a daze when they were done. David had gone whole hog and replaced their wardrobes. He’d even gotten Ruth to take three cocktail dresses, one of which was the little red number she had on.

David had bought a Giorgio Armani cream-colored wraparound double-breasted suit. They’d made the alterations while the girls shopped for dresses.