Worth Billions (Worth It 1)

“I uh, I ran into a surprise snag with my housing. That’s why I’m here. But I’ve got a couple of places I can check out today, so if all goes well I’ll be out early tomorrow.”

Even as I stood there with my cock pulsing against my pelvis, I knew she was lying. I saw the anxiety roll over her features. I caught her reflection in the kitchen window. Her eyes filled with worry. Her lips were pursed with nervous energy. Her back pulled taut and her toes curled into the tiles of the kitchen floor. The longer we stood there, the more tense she became. She scrubbed the dishes harder as she continued to rattle on, and with each word the wavering of her voice grew.

“I mean, I wasn’t going to stay long anyway. Just a few days. But I know Stillsville has a couple of motels and a friend of mine contacted me this morning, saying I could come stay with her. Just until I iron out the kinks with my old place. Which shouldn’t take more than a week.”

It was clear she had nowhere else to go. She put up a good front. She was strong. My interpretation was that she figured I wouldn’t think she was strong if she admitted it. Admitted to not having anywhere to go. And honestly? I didn’t give a shit as to what happened to her prior home. I had no intention of sticking around this town any longer than I had to, which meant the less emotionally invested I could get in this outsider, the better.

But I couldn’t fucking put her out on the street.

Not when I knew she was blatantly lying to me.

“Look, I’m in the process of dividing up Anton’s estate. But while I’m here for the next few days, you’re welcome to stay,” I said.

“It’s fine. Really,” Michelle said. “I had no intentions of staying—”

“Michelle.”

Her body froze. The profile of her face swiveled slowly towards me and I watched her eyes swoop over my body. I prayed she hadn’t seen the bulge in my pants. Fuck me. How embarrassing. We both had shit we were hiding. We both cared about Anton. We both had comforting moments within the walls of his home.

It made no sense for her not to stay.

“You have a room here. Anton made that perfectly clear. And I have no intention of stripping you of that simply because he’s gone,” I said.

She winced, and I immediately regretted my choice of words.

“You can stay as long as you like,” I said.

“That’s kind of you, Gray. Thank you. I’ll make sure to keep out of your way.”

I wanted to correct her. To tell her she could get in my fucking way anytime. But honestly? Seeing less of her was probably for the better. I nodded my head before she got back to washing the dishes, then I strode off to my bathroom. I needed a fucking shower and I needed to force all the thoughts running through my head from my mind. That beautiful woman in the kitchen was getting under my skin, and the last thing I needed was something anchoring me to a place full of nothing but hopelessness and despair.

But as the hot water rushed over my body, my erection didn’t go away.

Fuck me.

It was going to be a long week.

Chapter 8

Michelle

I knew I had to find a job right away if I was going to find a new place to stay. Gray’s kindness in letting me stay at Anton’s place for a few days would help, but once he left I’d be back on the street if I didn’t do something soon. I was desperate and no longer able to wait on an office job of some sort of open up. Despite my medical transcriptionist skills, I’d worked part-time for a trucking company back in North Dakota. I answered phones, written requisitions, talked in lost truckers from wherever the fuck they ended up. It wasn’t much, but it was something. But that ‘something’ wasn’t getting me anywhere in this bullshit down.

The only option I had was to cast my net as wide as I could get it.

Taking a shower, I dressed myself in the nicest clothes I had. A long skirt and a nice, flowing b

louse that would help circulate the heat off my body. The mall was three miles down the road, which would be far enough for me to work up a sweat on the way. I piled my hair on my head and made myself look presentable. Slapped on some makeup. Tried to make sure my tits weren’t hanging out too much. Then I slipped into some comfortable shoes and grabbed my purse. I walked into downtown to the Xerox place on the corner and printed out as many copies of my resume as five dollars would get me. Then I stapled them to a cover letter, shoved them in my purse, and started for the mall.

The walk was long. Longer than I predicted under the hot morning sun. By the time I got to the mall, there was a sheen of sweat on my body that made me look like a swamp monster. I stepped into the bathroom at the food court to wipe myself off and touch up my makeup. I splashed water in my face, used up half of their paper towels to wipe myself down, then dried my fucking underarms at the drying station. I sprayed some perfume on my clothes so I wouldn’t smell like dust and sweat, reapplied my makeup, then started on my journey.

I was going shop-to-shop.

Even if they weren’t taking applications, I put one in their hands anyway. A couple of them interviewed me on the spot, though I could see the manager’s eyes dropping to my chest. Fuck. If it got me a job, I’d do didn’t care. So I played it up. Leaned on the counter and squeezed my tits together, then licked my lips like I wanted them. I’d take any job they threw at me. Stocking shelves. Piercing ears. A cashier paid drastically under minimum wage. Anything.

Like I said, I was desperate.

After I walked to every single store in the mall, I stopped at the sad excuse for a food court and sat down. I didn’t want to waste the money I did have on food if there was food at Anton’s, but I did take a couple of bucks out to get a drink before I walked back. And as I relaxed into the rickety chair, I looked around. Most of the places were shut down anyway. The only food places the damn food court had were a chicken place, Chinese Express, and a sub-station. Oh, and ice cream. But those were machines. Not an actual employable destination.