Chapter 23

Yvonne sat at her desk in the Mistress Media offices, replying to the last of her emails. It was evening, and she was eager to head home to her apartment. Ruby had messaged her earlier with a photo of a dozen meticulously decorated cupcakes she’d made, along with a promise to save the best of the batch for her Mistress. While Yvonne didn’t care for baked goods, Ruby’s enthusiasm for them made Yvonne smile.

She sighed. The three-month mark was fast approaching. Soon, Yvonne would have her hands on half of her inheritance. It would be enough to help Nita, enough to recoup her own investments. All her problems would be solved.

And Ruby would have half her money too.

There was a knock on Yvonne’s office door. She looked up to find Madison entering the room, her coat and briefcase slung over her arm.

“Still here?” Madison asked. “I thought your days of staying late at the office were in the past.”

“They are,” Yvonne said. “I’m finishing up now.”

“I’m about to head out too. Just waiting for Blair to wrap things up. We have a dinner date.” Madison took a seat in the chair in front of Yvonne’s desk. “While I wait, there are some matters I need to discuss with you, I’ll need you to take care of while we’re on the honeymoon.”

Madison’s honeymoon was just over a week away. While she was gone, Yvonne would have to take over the running of Mistress Media. It would mostly be business as usual for Yvonne, but Madison insisted on reminding her of every little task and meeting Yvonne would have to attend to in her place.

As Madison continued, Yvonne’s mind drifted back to Ruby. Ruby hadn’t mentioned anything about ending their arrangement at three months. She’d implied she was sticking the entire year through. But after the year was over, what would happen to the two of them?

What did Yvonne want to happen?

“Can you take care of it?” Madison said.

Yvonne blinked. “Yes. Leave it to me.” She had no idea what Madison had said, but as always, Madison would email her about it later.

Madison looked at her, frowning. “Okay, what’s going on?”

“Nothing. Everything is fine.”

Madison put her coat and bag down. “Don’t tell me. It’s about Ruby.”

“Is it really that obvious?”

“I’ve never seen anyone get under your skin as much as her. It’s the only explanation. So, what’s the problem? The honeymoon period is finally over?”

“No, everything between us is great. That’s the thing.” Yvonne paused. “I’m becoming attached to her.”

“Attached?” Madison raised an eyebrow. “Yvonne, Ruby isn’t a puppy. And the fact that you feel something toward her isn’t a bad thing.”

“It complicates things. This arrangement of ours, it was never supposed to be anything more than temporary.”

“But you want it to be more?”

Yvonne shook her head. “I don’t know. Perhaps I should ask Ruby what she wants.”

“Isn’t it obvious what Ruby wants? She’s clearly head over heels for you.”