Chapter 1

The day I went to visit my cousin's place, I teased him into buying me the new Dior lipstick.

Charles Dickerson had just reached for his phone to place the order when his wife slapped me right across the face.

She jabbed a finger at me and snapped, "You little slut. Every single day you're hanging on my husband, getting him to buy you things. What are you, a beggar?"

After that slap, Uncle Frank Chavez and the whole family froze.

They pointed at her and couldn't get a word out.

Eileen Fox must have taken their silence for agreement, because she stood up even straighter.

She planted her hands on her hips right there in the living room and rattled off another string of insults.

I touched my swollen cheek and smiled faintly.

Then I took out my phone and called my mother. "Mom, Eileen just called me a beggar and slapped me across the face. Go ahead and cancel that order to Charles's company."

1

When the car pulled up outside my cousin's house, I'd just finished going over the three-million-dollar order for his company with my assistant.

I pushed open the front door and walked in. Uncle Frank and Aunt Rita were sitting on the living room couch watching TV.

When they saw me, they waved me over to sit down.

"Patty's here! Come sit. I just cut some cantaloupe, it's so sweet," Aunt Rita said warmly, pressing a fork into my hand.

I took it with a smile and bit into a piece. "Aunt Rita's cantaloupe really is something else. So sweet!"

Uncle Frank chuckled beside her, drawing on the pipe that never left his hand. "You always know just what to say. Oh, that order you mentioned last time. Charles told me it's already going through. I really have to thank you for this. If it weren't for your help, his company would've been in real trouble..."

I waved him off, still chewing, and mumbled, "Don't be like that, Uncle Frank. We're family. Charles's quote was fair and his company's qualified. The order had to go to someone."

That was what I said. But the truth was, if it hadn't been for family ties, an order like that never would have landed at his little company.

I knew how things had been going for them lately.

Eileen had lost over seven million in the stock market last year. Their finances had collapsed a long time ago.

This order, put plainly, was my mother's way of slipping Uncle Frank money because she felt for him.

I'd barely finished speaking when footsteps came down the stairs.

Charles came down in his loungewear.

He still had a tablet in his hand. He must have just wrapped up work upstairs.

When he saw me, his face lit up and he quickly set the tablet down on the coffee table.

He grinned and greeted me. "Patty, I saw the contract you sent me just now. I really owe you for this one. Once the order pays out, I'm taking you to a nice dinner. Anywhere you want."

I set down the fork and wiped my hands.

To let him save face, I put on a little pout. "Forget the dinner. There's a new Dior lipstick, that seductive shade. A lot of bloggers have been raving about it. Once the order pays out, will you buy me one, Charlie?"

Charles laughed the moment he heard it and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "It's just one lipstick. Why wait for the money to come in? One? I'll buy you the whole set if you want."

I'd only meant to tease him, to make him feel a little better.

We'd grown up together, after all. I knew exactly what kind of person he was.

But the second the words left my mouth, footsteps came pounding down the stairs.

Before I could even react, my left cheek took a slap that cracked across it.

I was stunned, and it took me a while to come back to myself.

I turned my head and saw Eileen standing right beside me, her eyes bulging.

She jabbed a finger at me and started shouting, "You little slut! How many times have I told you to stay away from my husband? Every day you're clinging to him, getting him to buy you this and that. What are you, a beggar?"