The Playboy's Crush By Deborah A. Olaleye

THREE

It still felt like a dream to Lara.

She couldn't totally take it hook, line, and sinker that the agreement she had with Shane was actually credible.

It looked too good to be true. She shook her head and huffed a deep breath to be certain she wasn't caught up in a phantom.

It really happened!

She looked down continually at his business card, scoffing in disbelief at how miraculously her meeting with him had played out.

He would really be paying up the loan leveraged over her by George?

The logical part of her still played the doubting Thomas, despite his assurance that he meant his words.

She raked her fingers through her hair and blew out air from her mouth as she flagged her arms out to hail a cab.

Her shift at the store would be starting soon, and unless she wanted to be laid off from her job, she would not let her emotions get the better of her.

She mentally lectured herself to calm down and not raise her hopes too high.

She wouldn't yet believe he actually meant what he had promised to do until he did exactly that.

She earnestly looked forward to sunrise the next day and affirmed his promise.

A cab pulled over in a few minutes, and she got in quickly.

Time moved at a slow pace as she worked through her shifts at the different part-time jobs she held. It was as if it could sense her desperation for it to be morning already and to have her doubts erased about the incredible offer Shane had made.

She worked as hard as she could to keep her mind off the worries that were bothering her.

There was no thinking about George or Shane's offer. Despite her will, her brain was still structuring the new plans for the future if Shane's offer were to be genuine.

That was exactly the reason she struggled to blank out her mind. She couldn't afford to get her hopes up at the expense of the probable disappointment she might end up having by taking his words into account.

Her phone's ringtone gave off in her pockets while she cleaned the floors.

Wiping off the bead of sweat on her head with the back of her hand, she pulled out the phone from her apron pocket.

A smile tipped the edge of her lips as she saw the name of the caller: Kyle.

She picked up the phone and raised it to her ear.

"Don't tell me you will be bailing out on dinner tonight again, Lara." Kyle's voice came in disapprovingly through the phone.

She choked out a wry laugh. "I won't, Mom."

Kyle had been her best friend since high school and had been very supportive in assisting her both emotionally and financially in the little way she could.

Through her, she had also gotten to know Meredith, Joe, and Laura. The four were as inseparable as a shadow from oneself, and she had immediately been taken into their closely knit group through Kyle's influence.

And it was through Kyle's persistence that she had been able to attune to being friends with them over the years that Kyle had introduced her to them.

"Don't let me down, alright? Everyone's here already."

"I will try not to. I will be getting off work soon."

"Alright then. I will be expecting you. " She made a noisy, kissy sound on the phone and disconnected the call.