Chapter 5: Greedy For Money

Wendy Stone had attended a prestigious private girls' school outside the United States. Her accent was luxurious and she looked like a well-bred lady. Her proud smile made her a little detestable, but other than that, there was nothing wrong with her. She had grown up in the lap of luxury while Sarah had been cooped up in a one-room apartment with her mother, trying to remember what was in the fridge for them to eat. While she was being bullied by her ‘friends’ in the orphanage, she went on vacations with her high school friends. While Sarah worked two jobs to pay her college tuition, Wendy was living at home, going to college with her parents’ family. But until that day, Sarah had never seen her half-sister before. Neither did she want to. She should have felt jealous at how the girl had grown up, but instead, she felt disdain. Yes, she was the mistress’ daughter, but she had never known her father. While this girl could mourn for her father, she couldn’t even acknowledge that she was her mother’s daughter. Sarah plastered a fake smile on her face and nodded. “Please sit down.” She interacted with the students and gave them the lecture as she should have. She didn’t glance twice in Wendy’s direction. When the class ended, the students filtered out, looking over their shoulders and talking about her. From the corner of her eye, Sarah saw someone in pink heels stop in front of her. Without looking up, she continued to pack her things. “Miss Mitch, may I have a word with you?” the sweet voice floated into her ear. Sarah finally looked up. “Miss Stone, how may I help you?” she questioned professionally. “I can tell that you are one of the top students in the faculty. Would you mind helping me out privately?” Wendy asked. While she sounded like an angel, the proposition she was making was against the rules. Sarah didn’t know if Wendy knew this or not. “I apologize… the university rules disbar me from privately tutoring any of the students outside of class. I hope you understand.” Wendy knit her brow together. “That shouldn’t be a problem. I will pay you for your services.” ‘Services.’ That one word broke the air of politeness and respect Wendy had shown before. “I understand, but I cannot teach you privately.” Wendy bit her lip, looking rather petulant. “I understand, Miss Mitch.” She whipped her head around and walked out. Sarah released the breath she was holding unconsciously and slumped. As she walked out of the classroom with her bag slung over her shoulder, she heard bits and pieces of a conversation that she shouldn’t have. “This teaching assistant was so hungry for money,” the familiar voice snarled. “I wanted to thank her for tutoring us and she directly propositioned me to pay her for her notes.” “Damn, she did?” another girl from the class asked. “Why didn’t you take her up on the offer?” Girl A asked. Sarah couldn’t remember this one's name. “It’s not like you are short on money.” Wendy sighed. “It is a matter of principle. Did she think she could make money off me? I don’t condone such underhanded methods to get ahead.” The air of superiority oozed off her. Sarah shook her head and walked past the group. There was no need to confront them. Rich people always badmouthed others to keep their crimes in the dark. She was used to it; she was a product of it. Sarah spent the rest of the day in the library, working on her thesis. While she had completed it, she always wanted to add more to it and perfect it further. As she studied, she felt a tap on her shoulder and looked up. The guy stood behind her with a smooth smile. “Can I help you?” Sarah whispered with a raised brow. She looked around and found a man standing behind her. He looked familiar and Sarah suddenly remembered that he had brought William’s clothes that morning. “Mr. Colton sent you lunch,” Luca said softly. He was rather confused why he had become an errand boy and taken time off contract meetings to hand over food to a girl the Boss had spent the night with, but a salaried worker could only say so much to their employer. Sarah raised a brow. “Is he too free?” she asked. Luca realized that this might be his future Lady Boss and that she had not yet been charmed by William Colton. He gave a blinding smile and shook his head. It was better if he could help his boss out in this situation. “He has been in and out of meetings all morning. He really wanted to have breakfast with you, but that fell through. He didn’t get time to have lunch, either.” The tone of pity would have infuriated William, who almost never had breakfast or lunch. But to use your woes to win a girl was a tactic used since the beginning of time. “You should send this to him, then,” Sarah countered, seeing through his plan. Luca wasn’t bothered. “Mr. Colton said you shouldn’t skip lunch even if you are busy. He will have lunch when you do.” He bowed. “Please don’t mind me, I am just doing my job.” Sarah shook her head in disbelief. She really didn’t understand rich people and their whims. She took the food from him and set it beside her. “Tell William that I had my food.” Luca bowed his head once again before retreating. He called his boss to relay the news. “You can take a day off tomorrow.” Luca cheered and thanked the boss. His service had been met with good results! - - - - - That night, Sarah was busy scrubbing the lunch box William had sent her. She was waiting for dinner to come out of the oven. The pot roast was easy to make and cost-effective. The doorbell rang and Sarah’s head perked up. She walked over with soapy hands and opened the door. William stood on the other side, his tie crooked and his blazer folded on his arm. “Why are you back?” “Baby, I’m hungry.”