I stood there debating what to do. Finally, I stepped toward the limo and jumped in shutting the door behind me.

“Where to?” she asked

“Walterboro…off of Clements Road.”

“My God you are a country bumpkin,” she huffed.

I sat there while she called orders to the driver and then pushed a little button causing a barrier to rise between us and him.

“Now, let’s get back to business,” she said. “I need you to do something for me and since you need money so badly I’m prepared to pay you nicely, as long as you don’t screw it up.”

“OK, is this something illegal? Because I’m no criminal.”

“No, it’s not illegal.”

“OK, shoot me with it.”

She grinned and then slid farther back into her seat.

“I’d like to pay you to date my daughter,”’ she smirked as she poured a brown liquid out of a crystal container into a crystal glass. It smelled like liquor, which was fitting since I was almost positive this bitch was drunk.

“You wanna pay me to do what?”

“You heard me.”

“You’re joking, right?” I snorted.

“No, this is no joking matter and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t treat it like one. I’m offering you a serious business proposition,” she said aggressively.

I sobered and got rid of my smile. If this lady was serious, I was going to be serious, too. This could very well be the break me and dad were hoping for. Still, being paid to date someone didn’t sit well with me. This girl must be some kind of God-awful creature if her mom had to pay a dude to date her.

“What’s wrong with her?” I asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Well, no offense or anything, but if you gotta to pay someone to date your daughter, there’s gotta be something wrong with her.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my daughter. There’s something wrong with all the boys who can’t see how wonderful she is.”

“So, she’s ugly?”

“Absolutely not!” she snapped. “She has a small weight problem, but she’s beautiful and that’s exactly how you treat her. Take her out, show her a fabulous time, and make her feel like she’s the most gorgeous creature you’ve ever seen.”

“Basically you want me to blow smoke up her ass?”

“Stay away from her ass, but yes…whatever you have to do.”

“Exactly what do I get out of this and how long do I have to do it?” I asked.

“In return for you dating my daughter, I’ll pay your unpaid balance to the bank. If I heard correctly, you have ninety days. When the ninety days are up and as long as my daughter’s happy and you’ve done your job correctly…I’ll pay it.”

“You can’t be serious.” I choked. “You’re gonna pay me eight thousand dollars to date your kid? How old is she anyway? She not like some high school kid or anything is she?” I asked.

“Is that all you owe? Sounds perfect. Yes, I’ll definitely pay you eight thousand dollars and no, my daughter’s not a high school student. She’ll be twenty-one next month; you’re kind of an early birthday present.”

This couldn’t have happened at a better time. Actually, it was kind of freaky how convenient it was, but at this point I’d be willing to do almost anything. I couldn’t refuse if I wanted to. It’s not likely that another opportunity like this would fall into my lap.

Eight grand was pocket change for this woman.

“Make it fifteen thousand and we got a deal,” I said.

If I’m doing this, I might as well get something out of it, too. Lucy was going to look good with her new paint job.

The car wasn’t moving anymore and the silence in the small space was suffocating as she thought it over. I still couldn’t believe this was happening. It was wrong to lead some poor, fat girl around making her think that I wanted her, but I knew I could pull it off. We needed this money—I could do this for Jenny.

“Fine,” she gave in. “I’ll pay you three grand to start.  We’ll call it a courtesy payment. There are a few rules, though. You screw this up and you will not get the other twelve grand in ninety days. Plus, I’ll personally make your life a living Hell. I’ll make it my mission to make sure that you and your loved ones lose everything…and Mr. Michaels, I’m filthy rich. Don’t think for one minute that I can’t ruin you.”

“What are the rules?” I snapped.