Designer Bag, Private Club, “Gold Digger” – Then I Made One Phone Call Chapter 01
The day before orientation, my boyfriend Derek Whitmore asked
his best friend–the student body president–to come over and help
me get settled on campus.
The moment she saw me, Vivian Prescott laughed. “Cute little
modest dress, doe eyes, that whole ‘I’m not like other girls‘ energy.
You really committed, huh?”
She gave me a slow, dismissive once–over.
“Looks only get you so far. With what you’ve got, the best you can
hope for is becoming some rich guy’s sugar baby. You’re never
gonna lock down anything serious.”
Seeing my frown, Derek leaned in and whispered. “Vivian’s just
looking out for you. She doesn’t want you going down the wrong path.”
“She’s a year ahead of you, and she’s student body president. Trust
me–she’s seen this happen too many times.”
I didn’t want to make a scene, so I excused myself when the food
arrived. But as I walked away, I caught Vivian mid–lecture.
“Louis Vuitton bag, Chanel outfit, and she picked a private
members‘ club for dinner. She’s really spending serious money.”
“She knows exactly how to play men–dressing up all innocent
when her whole goal is landing a rich guy and climbing the social ladder.”
“You know the Ashford heir? Yeah, he’s my boyfriend. I’ve seen a
million girls like her try to sleep their way to the top. You should be
careful too. A girl with no limits like that? Who knows what kind of baggage she’s dragging around.”
I was so furious I laughed.
I pulled out my phone and dialed the Ashford family’s eldest son directly.
“Hey, Griffin–since when did you get yourself a cheap little side
piece at my school? Does Elara know?”
Silence on the other end.
Then came a voice full of rage, “Seriously, Gemma? I don’t give you enough spending money, so you start rumors about your own
brother?”
That confirmed everything I needed to know.
I hung up and walked back into the private room.
The food was on the table. Vivian looked at me with a half–smile.
“Gemma, don’t wander off. This is a private club. If someone dragged
you into a back room, who knows what could happen.”
Derek grabbed my hand, his voice full of concern.
“She’s right. This place can get dangerous. If something went down,
I might not be able to keep you safe.”
I pulled my hand back and looked at Vivian calmly. “Thanks for
looking out for me. But I’m not stupid.”
Vivian’s smile sharpened.
“Right. A place like this? I’m sure you know it way better than I do.”
My chest tightened with frustration. I picked up my glass to take a
sip of water. The next second, the burn of hard liquor exploded in
my mouth and I choked, tears streaming down my face.
Vivian laughed.
“Can’t drink for a month after a nose job. How much did that nose cost you?”
“Some girls get every procedure done just to bag a rich guy. But give
it a few months, and that original face always fights its way back.”
Derek’s expression shifted. He turned to me. “Didn’t you disappear
for over a month after finals?”
I stared at him in disbelief. “You think I got plastic surgery?”
The truth was, the stress before finals had made me go on
medication that caused me to gain over fifteen pounds. It took me a
solid month of intense exercise to lose it all.
At the time, Derek had told me I was beautiful no matter what.
Now he was questioning me?
Vivian sneered. “Derek’s family is loaded–like, top–one–percent
loaded. You didn’t actually think that whole innocent act would
work on him, did you?”
Derek’s face flickered with discomfort. He lowered his voice. “The
Whitmore family values good matches. And you’ve never told me
anything about your family.”
“So let’s be honest now, Gemma. Where did your money come from?”
I’d thought Derek was just going along with Vivian to save face.
But he actually believed her.
The Whitmore family had eight figures to their name, sure. But
compared to my family’s assets? They were nothing.
I looked at him, disappointed. “I’m an Ashford. Satisfied?”
The words barely left my mouth before Vivian burst out laughing.
“My boyfriend is an Ashfords. Weird, because he’s never mentioned
a sister like you.”
The people around us started murmuring. “Her last name isn’t even
Ashford. How could she be family?”
“Gemma was basic before. How is she suddenly dripping in money
right after high school? She definitely found a sugar daddy…”
My blood boiled. I fired back.
“The Ashfords have two children. The son took the father’s last
name. The daughter took the mother’s.”
“If you don’t even know that, maybe you just found some random
guy named Ashford and claimed he’s the family heir?”
I’d hit Vivian where it hurt most.
Her face twisted. “Derek, I only said that stuff for you. I didn’t expect
your girlfriend to take it like that.”
Derek’s expression hardened as he looked at me. “She was trying to
help. Why are you getting so worked up?”
“Or are you actually seeing some rich guy behind my back? Gemma,
you’d better explain yourself. My family won’t accept a woman with a dirty past.”
Vivian pressed herself against Derek, smirking at me.
Something inside me went cold. The man who’d promised to attend
the same college as me had just watched me get attacked and
instantly believed another woman over me.
I stood up. In front of everyone, I forced a small smile. “Perfect. I
don’t want a clueless guy who lets his ‘girl best friend‘ run his life anyway.”