"That's so great; I'll let her know! We'll have to get your dress fitted right away. I'll call you back with all the details." Mrs. Bennett hung up, and Clarke leaned back in her chair, wanting to hit herself for being such a yes-person. She heard a knock on the door and looked up to see Vince standing there.
Clarke stood straight up, only just then remembering she had told him to come by to pick up his check. Ever since that night together, she'd felt a little nervous around him. She didn't know whether to treat him like a hired worker, a pretend boyfriend or boyfriend, or a sexual acquaintance. She definitely hired him to do her renovation works and he proved to be an expert at what he does. She has no idea why he even agreed to be her pretend boyfriend, not that he had much choice after she put him in an awkward situation. Although sex was great with him that doesn't automatically make him her boyfriend ~ and she wasn't on the lookout for one. After that night, she felt awkward whenever Vince was around. She has avoided talking to him except for the necessary things on the shop renovation. She had never had a real relationship before. She believed that love does not last for long, and all her sexual encounters were instant stress relief with no strings attached.
She dug in her desk for the check she'd written and handed it to him. "Here's the money. I put a little extra in there to cover the whole pretending to be my boyfriend thing." She clammed her lips together and wrung her hands as he looked at the small slip of paper in his palm.
"Don't patronise me, Clarke. I'm not a gigalo hired to impress your mother," he blurted out. "I did it because I wanted to and didn't expect to be paid for it," he said with flicker of anger in his eyes.
"I'm sorry…...it's just that I appreciate you helping me get out in a difficult situation."
"And you expect me to graciously accept your payment and then disappear out of your life? Is that what you want, Clarke? I thought last Friday meant more to you than this," he said with both his palms up questioning Clarke's behavior.
Clarke found herself feeling stumped. On the one hand, she is quite fond of his presence and she could use him as a date for her cousin's wedding. On the other hand, it wouldn't be fair to him to keep up the charade. "I don't know, Vince. I mean…."
She was suddenly interrupted as Katie walked into the office. "I'm sorry, guys, but Clarke, your mother insists on seeing you right this second." Clarke gave Katie a confused look. Hadn't her mother just been on the phone with her? What could she possibly want? But sure enough, Mrs. Bennett appeared right behind Katie, making Clarke's blood pressure shoot through the roof.