Vaughn

4.

Shawn's bedroom looked like how I expected, tidy and clean. The room gave off a vibe of an Airbnb, then someone's personal room. Actually, his whole place seemed like a rented out place than any actual home. I suppose he doesn't have a reason to make it feel homey when he spends most of his time in the office or out of town.

I stayed in his bedroom while Shawn went inside his walk-in closet to grab his outfit. A few seconds later I hear him say, "aren't you going to help me pick an outfit?"

"I thought you had options ready," I stuttered out, making my way into the closet.

"I don't know how to casually dress," he rolled his eyes. "If you haven't noticed all I wear are my suits," he gestured to the long row of his neutral suits.

I couldn't help but chuckle, this was the first time I have seen him try to impress someone. "You must really like this girl if you are trying this hard,"

"If I am being honest—" which he is a hundred percent of the time. "...my grandmother set me up on this blind date with her friend's daughter."

He isn't the one to date—in the last year he hasn't had one girlfriend, not even a fling. Sadly, when I say he is honest, he is one-hundred transparent with me. He doesn't like wasting time on dating or leading girls on. I have never bothered asking what made him decide this, maybe a bad break-up—or he can be as heartless as people make him be.

"There is nothing wrong with dating..." I muttered, realizing how weird it was telling him. It wasn't my business to know what he does on his personal time.

"I don't date. It's a waste of time," he folds his arms against his chest.

I gulped. "Look, I should be the last person you talk to about these things. Call one of your guy friends," I suggested. I am not in the mental capacity to give out dating advice when I am barely trying to place my feet into those grounds. I don't blame the guy for thinking dating was a waste of time—it was. Especially when you realize you picked the wrong person to give your time to.

Shawn chuckled quietly, "I don't have friends,"

I scoffed, "what about Edgar and Raul? You have lunch with them every week,"

"They're acquaintances, not friends." He simply said.

I furrowed my eyebrows, perplex. "They consider you a friend, you know that right?" I asked him.

He nodded, "they have to, I help their business. But as they are disposable, so am I." He grinned as if he found it amusing. "Vaughn, this industry is about who can get you further and a lot of fucking money. Don't be fooled, not everyone, if any is your friend."

I leaned against the wall, sinking in his words. "Yeah, you're right." I sighed. "You are also wrong. Not everyone is disposable and if you continue to think that way, you're setting yourself up for a lonely life."

"I am okay being alone," his eyes wandered to the floor. He was lying—possibly the fifth time I have seen him do that. When it is business-related, he is honest. If we talk about our personal life, he lies to me, and I don't judge. Everyone opens up at their pace and if he thinks I am not worthy of letting in—I am not offended.

I cleared my throat, deciding to end the conversation. "So, where are you meeting her at?" I clapped my hands together preparing my eyes to look for clothing options.

"We are going to Flora Bar," he responded. Right, expensive date. Emma and I went there once for Thomas's birthday dinner. The cheapest plate being twenty-six dollars. On a college budget, that is expensive.

"Okay, let me see." I began moving around his casual attire, giving a few looks back to Shawn who was staring me with a small smirk. My hands landed back to the dark green button-down long sleeve. "Where are your pants at?" I asked. He pointed to the other side of the closet. A grin formed on my face when I saw the khaki ankle-length dress pants.

"Which drawer has your belts?" I look back at him.

He came next to me and opened the drawer to the right. I picked up the dark brown belt and a pair of dark brown shoes. "Here. I think this is casual and still in the office element you like," he took the items from my hands and place them down in the bathroom counter.

"How about you wait for me downstairs while I get ready? You can grab anything from the fridge or pantry," he told me, as we walked back into his room.

I nodded, "sounds good to me," and I went back downstairs.

I decided to go straight to the fridge, hoping to find some Gatorade or anything besides water to finish helping my body cure the hangover. Luckily, he did have Gatorade, the fruit punch kind, my favorite. I left the kitchen and went to sit in the living room by his fireplace. Taking in the rest of the condo, it was perfect for Shawn, simple.

I spent the next twenty-minutes on my phone, scrolling on social media. It wasn't long before Shawn came down the stairs in the outfit I picked. He looked good—he always does. Tonight he looked more of his age rather than a grumpy businessman. The dark green shirt complimented his eyes, helping the color pop out more.

"So, what do you think?" He extends his hands out, giving me a better view.

I gave him a thumbs up. "I did a good job," I smiled cheekily.

"I think so too," he responded. He took out his phone, texted something and put it away. "I have to get going. I ordered you an uber and I know I said cash but I don't feel comfortable with you carrying that much money around. So I deposited the money through my personal account," he added.

"Shawn—" My phone vibrated and I looked down at the notification: $1000 have been deposited into your Wells Fargo college account. "Hey, this is way too much money!"

"I think it's more than enough. Shall we go?" He pointed to the elevator.

I was going to protest, unfortunately, Shawn doesn't like when I do that. So I thanked him and followed him into the elevator.

My stop came first since he had to go down to the underground parking garage. "Goodnight Ms. Vaughn," he said as I stepped out the elevator.

"Yeah, goodnight Shawn. Thank you again," I smiled and headed towards the main lobby.

*****

I really am enjoying writing this story. It is a bit different than my normal royal stories! Anyway let me know your thoughts and please vote!