Chapter 2

Once one had bowed too long, one forgot how to stand tall.

There was a long silence.

I heard Alexander's mocking voice in my ear. "Well, an old man like me really is perfect for being your sugar daddy."

My heart sank.

Figures, Alexander would remember that, I thought, my heart sinking.

I waved my hands frantically, then, throwing caution to the wind, lunged forward and clung to his leg.

"Mr. Sterling, I'm sorry for saying that. Please, as the bigger person, don't hold it against me." As I spoke, I smacked my mouth.

Alexander frowned at me and snapped, "Get up."

I shook my head desperately, clinging to his leg even tighter.

Alexander's lips thinned in anger. "Not getting up? Then forget the allowance."

I looked up at him, frozen for a few seconds.

Immediately, I sprang to my feet. "No. We must talk. And talk properly."

The cash was the whole reason I went to Alexander in the first place.

"Monthly or yearly?" Alexander asked.

I lowered my eyes, hesitated for a few seconds, then asked softly, "Could we do daily payments instead?"

"Don't even think about it," Alexander snapped.

Alexander's face darkened at my words, but I was too caught up in my own thoughts to notice.

Alexander then asked, "How much do you want per month?"

I crooked my finger and ventured hesitantly, "6,000 dollars?"

Honestly, I had no idea what the going rate was for something like this.

But I knew that for a catch like me, the lower the price, the quicker I would be snapped up.

The finest things always came with premium price tags, putting them beyond most people's reach.

But when something good came cheaply, everyone was scrambling to get their hands on it.

I'd thought Alexander would be thrilled with my 6,000-dollar quote.

After all, this deal worked for both of us. Alexander won, and so did I.

But when I looked up, all I saw was Alexander staring at me with that exasperated look, like he couldn't believe how clueless I was.

Alexander said with a dangerous sneer, "Does the Sterling family look like we're strapped for cash?"

Seeing his displeasure, I hastily upped my offer, stammering, "Then 15 thousand dollars?"

Alexander sized me up with a sneer. "15 thousand dollars? That's barely enough for one of your designer handbags."

I abruptly lowered my head, biting back the tears that threatened to spill.

Alexander was right. Back when I was still the heiress of the Grant family, a 15-thousand-dollar bag was nothing special to me. Heck, even ones that went for 80 thousand dollars barely caught my eye.

Thinking of this, I looked up and said, "Mr. Sterling, with your net worth in the billions, you certainly wouldn't want to cheap out on your sugar baby, would you? So, how about 1.5 million dollars a month?"

I was just testing to see how far Alexander would go.

Just how much would a man of his stature be willing to spend on a woman like me?

Actually, I was getting ahead of myself.

With a mocking glint in his eyes, Alexander sneered, "Ms. Grant, you certainly have the nerve to ask for the moon."

Finally, his words shattered what little composure I had left.

"Fine," I snapped, throwing my hands up in defeat. "You decide what I'm worth, Mr. Sterling. Name your price."

Alexander's gaze turned inscrutable. "What, so now you feel like merchandise being haggled over? With that kind of fragile mentality, you still think you can be a sugar baby?"

"Rachel," Alexander sneered, "just how many sugar daddies did you try before me? None of them wanted you, did they?"

I just sat there, feeling overwhelmed as Alexander bombarded me with one question after another.

I said quickly, "Mr. Sterling, I didn't approach anyone else. You're the only one."

Alexander remained silent for a long moment.

Moments later, Thomas placed a contract before me. "Ms. Grant, Mr. Sterling requires you to sign this contract. Your arrangement will take effect immediately."

I didn't dare waste another second. My hands trembling, I snatched up the pen and hastily signed.

In my rush to sign, I naturally missed that particular clause in the contract. [I'd be paid 3 million dollars per month after taxes.]

After signing the contract, I smoothly produced the freshly issued bank card from my pocket.

"Mr. Sterling, please wire the money to this card," I smiled. "Andrew froze my other accounts. I just opened this one yesterday."

Alexander made no move to take the card.

The ever-observant butler quickly stepped forward and said, "Ms. Grant, I'll hold onto your bank card for you."