The next morning, upon recognizing Joshua's call sign beside one of the flashing icons, Lydia disabled the auto-read notification. "How about we share breakfast?
She groaned. "How about no, you prick?"
Once upon a time, Joshua had been Lydia's good friend. And when hell came at thirteen when Lydia was sent away to school, Joshua, heir-in-wait to one of the strongest families of their section stood by Lydia's side, sending gifts and recommendations. Being backed by the Laurences had sent rumors about Lydia flying and a level of scorn she had yet to experience again.
But they were friends once. It felt like a million years ago, but it was one of Lydia's few good memories growing up.
That damn nostalgia made Lydia weak to Joshua.
She didn't have it in her to treat the man how others treated him. Yes, Joshua was a bitch-imp and a brat, but his less-than-appealing appearance as a child and unsavory rumors about his family had made him the talk of the section—in a bad way. Lydia wished she hadn't known all that, because maybe then she could tell the bastard to go to hell.
She typed in a response. "Sure, thanks."
The screen flickered. "Fantastic!" Joshua exclaimed.
Lydia shrieked but managed to calm. "How—how were you able to force the com without my permission?"
Joshua beamed. "With the secondary auto-response feature, of course. Very costly but well worth the credits. Now, if we meet early, we'll get the entire day together."
And on and on he went.
Give it a rest, Josh. Please.
"Aren't we going to the party with your friends? This time Lars invited me as well. But that goes without saying, doesn't it?" Joshua asked, fighting to smile. "And I went ahead and accepted the invite on your behalf."
Lydia's eyes bugged. "What?" A quick slide of her finger along the surface showed all pending invitations. The last thing she needed was another costly party—and certainly nothing by the likes of Lars. She flicked her wrist, deleting it.
Joshua's smile fell. Judging from his glance off screen, he was getting yet another auto-response notifying him.
"What'd you do that for? I accepted for us as a couple. You brought over a year's worth of credits for my offering. Are you just playing with me? Doesn't that mean you wanted to seriously consider my suit? Are you just some sort of tease?"
That was a good question.
Lydia should tell him to drop dead. Maybe she could do it in a message. Yes. A distant, cold message via interface. That was the way. Or best yet, invite Joshua to dinner—an act that'd probably prompt him to get excited about his suit—only to shoot him down face to face.
How in the hell am I going to get out of this?
And then the worst part came to mind, Joshua would no longer be an option. He shouldn't have been one now but Lydia knew. Joshua was dick-under-glass: break in case of emergency. It would be a cold day in hell. Either Lydia, or Dizzy and Milton getting eaten by an imp split second decision, but it was there. It was there and Lydia cursed herself for being that desperate.
Lydia shuddered.
"If you're worried about tonight, don't be. I've got the best gifts..." Joshua assured her. "That sounds nice, yeah?" he asked. "Are—are you worried about the entry fee? To the party I mean. I can pay it for you and we both go together, like a date. After that we can talk about what to do with our new E. I can't emphasize enough how lucrative fighting him would be."
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The Nobleman's Masterpiece ✔
الخيال (فانتازيا)Fallen from grace Lydia Garant has an estate problem--and then some. A nobleman worships the ground she walks on, but it's his pauper bodyguard who piques her interest. ***** Lydia Garant has never fully had control of her life. Saddled with her par...
