Read On 4/19 (On 4/19 and Beyond 4/20) for Free Online Page A

properly.
    Finally, in her usual snappy tone, Irene encouraged, “Chelsea, find something you like. Stop looking at the prices.”
    Embarrassed, Chelsea admitted, “Honestly, I can’t even afford to be shopping here. I was going to charge something, but these prices are much too high. Do you mind if we go somewhere else?”
    The look in Chelsea’s eyes momentarily softened her heart. Never one to gush or succumb to womanly emotions, Irene found the feeling to be foreign but not altogether unpleasant. Already she liked the girl,if for no other reason than she made John happy, but the look she gave her was tremendously humble and obviously sincere. Totally out of character for her, Irene reached out and pinched Chelsea’s cheek, reassuring her, “You won’t have to charge anything. John is buying. We can pick out anything we like. So enjoy!”
    For a moment, Chelsea stood there looking at Irene. She was older than John but not by much, probably in her early to mid-fifties. With short, rather boyish looking hair, solemn suit, and heels, Chelsea could only imagine what a professional woman such as Irene thought of her relationship with John. Her embarrassment growing, she whispered, “This is not what it looks like.”
    While sensing her embarrassment, Irene assured her, “It’s exactly what it looks like. You need a dress, and I have your sugar daddy’s credit card. Now get to shopping.”
    Even though she sensed it to be Irene’s attempt at humor, Chelsea felt sick at her stomach at her comment. What else could it be but exactly what Irene said? He bought her a car, was buying her clothes; it was exactly what it looked like. So caught up in the impropriety of their arrangement, it took a moment for her to realize Irene was addressing her.
    “I looked at John’s calendar. He has several events coming up, so we’ll get you a few things.”
    By the time they finished, Chelsea had four dresses, several pairs of shoes, and a handbag for each outfit. The bags she loaded into her car contained items worth more than all she owned combined. When she sat down and closed the car door, Chelsea began to cry. What in the world was she doing? How could this not lead to something bad? What she was doing had to be wrong in some way. But so far, she’d done nothing but accepted a few gifts from a man who could obviously afford them.
    Trying to reel in her emotions and disregard that inner accusatory voice, Chelsea thought back over the past two hours. Irene, while extremely blunt, turned out to be surprisingly fun while shopping and even half sweet on several occasions. She seemed to find great satisfaction in spending John’s money, offering to buy Chelsea much more than they actually purchased. They stopped their marathon for a quick dinner, and of course Irene put the dinner on John’s card.
    While they ate, Chelsea found out that his wife died of cancer more than ten years before. Mentioning nothing more than that, Irene said little else about John. Clearly, she was the most loyal of employees, and by her tone when she spoke of him, Irene admired John greatly. Chelsea understood that completely. Still, she found herself recounting all that was said over dinner with him and the sense of awe that he stirred within her. Again the extraordinary possibilities the next year promised danced through her mind. It was hard to even imagine what might be in store for her next.
    More than a little apprehensive, Chelsea pulled in front of the gallery and stepped out of the car. A valet slipped behind the wheel. As if she were living someone else’s life, she moved in a fog through the front doors. From the looks of things, she appeared to fit right in, dropping her Benz off at the valet, wearing an outfit more expensive than her last car was worth, and smiling as if she had a clue what to do at a gallery, when in truth, she was just a farm girl playing dress-up. She was so far out of her league that she wondered if she could possibly