Hiding from Mr. Billionaire

16 Cigars and Names

Agatha rolled her eyes as the sound of crinkling paper filled the air, "we're not doing anything disgusting."

Jasper lifted his nose from his opened magazine and narrowed his eyes. "You're hugging a complete stranger who also happens to be a dead beat." He turned to Vivian briefly, "no offense."

Only a deadbeat because of you!  Vivian raged inside her head. She wanted to throw sharp things and yell at him from the rooftops. Granted that was informal and one wouldn't normally even consider it. However, she'd never felt more vulnerable in her life. Vivian couldn't fathom the idea of turning a family knowingly full of women straight into poverty just because of hatred for a simple man. With no alternative solution.  The way Jasper acted, it was as if he hadn't done anything at all.

"Are you okay Mr. Smith?" Jasper asked, looking up from his paper. "You're looking mighty angry at me, I'd like to have you know it was just a joke. There's no need to get womanly sensitive about it."

Vivian's head snapped out of thought, "sorry I was just thinking about something else. Didn't mean to stare at you. Mr," she added.

Jasper eyed her in amusement as Agatha sighed quietly behind him; carrying food toward the table. "Say, I haven't quite gotten your first name yet boy. Who are you?"

The two siblings looked at Vivian with two different expressions on their face. Vivian paused for a second, rummaging through her head of all the names she could say. She couldn't find anyone.

"Your name?" Jasper demanded once more.

"Will," she spluttered out nervously.

His brow arched with suspicion.

"Will," Vivian spit out with addition nerves.

"What?" he choked. "Will Smith?"

"William Smith," she said awkwardly. "But people rather call me by the nickname.... Will. Yeah, Will."

Agatha snorted while Jasper gazed at her humorously. "Alright, Will. So where do you come from?"

Agatha slapped the back of his head with annoyance and Jasper flinched back with a coy smile. "Stop asking such intrusive questions and tell me what you want to eat!"

"The question is fairly common," he defended while getting up from his seat. "And you don't have to worry about me dear sister, I'm not hungry right now. You can let the maids do that later. I'm going to go take a snuff before I head out to the gentleman's store to buy myself a new fitted suit."

"How lovely," Agatha said with a fake smile. "Maybe you can take Will with you so he can get fitted."

"But he doesn't have any money," Jasper retorted, looking over at Vivian. "Do you?"

"It doesn't matter Jasper," Agatha took out a cookie jar and unlocked the top from a key that she kept hidden on her chest, revealing a stack of cash. "Here, take a little that father gave me and spend it. I've already had my shopping spree."

"No," Jasper said, "I'm not taking him. And your not spending that money."

"Why not? Father's coming back soon, isn't he?"

Jasper tensed up for a bit; looking at Vivian with a sigh.

"Fine, I'll take him myself then."

Jasper frowned. "Don't be silly, you need an escort. A woman cannot just walk around alone by herself, who knows what man will take advantage of you."

"I have an escort," she said, gesturing to Vivian in her lanky man suit.

Vivian smiled nervously as Jasper eyed her skinny frame with disbelief. "Him? What can he do? I meant a real one, somebody that can actually protect you"

Agatha batted her long eyes lashes with a huge smile. "Does that mean you'll take us?"

"Us?" he croaked. "I thought it was just me and Jasper whom you wanted to go?"

"Well there's this new pink dress I want to check out that had frills and pretty puffed sleeves with a bow-"

"Fine!" Jasper bellowed, stalking off to the back door that led to the garden. "You two better be ready when I come back," he said, eyeing Vivian closely. "Don't think that you can get touchy while I'm gone, I still have my eye on the both of you. Unless," he gestured to Vivian, "you want to join me and leave the woman to her thing. Except for you Agatha, you can't have any of this."

Agatha rolled her eyes as he grabbed his cigar and left.

"A gentleman ... will never smoke in the presence of a lady without first obtaining her permission, and if, when smoking out of doors, he meets any lady, be she friend or foe, he will take his cigar out of his mouth while passing her."  Vivian remembered reading that somewhere in her fathers gentleman handbook, but she never thought much of it till now. It only added to the difference between that of men and women alike.

But were there any similarities between the two?

*******************

A/N - Thank you so much for reading! Please vote, comment, & share if you like the story. Stay safe lovely readers!! I'm going to reread bible stories now that i had since i was 10 lol xx