Taken by You (Taken by You Book One) by M.L. Young

down his cup and picked up a cucumber sandwich.
    “ I got it?” I asked, perking up a little.
    “ I didn’t say that either,” Blake replied.
    “ I think I’m going to need a little more clarification, then,” I said in a confused tone.
    “ Well, I said I could take care of some problems, didn’t I?” he asked.
    “ Yeah, you said that last night. Having this internship and the subsequent salary it would pay would take care of a lot of problems,” I said.
    “ What if I had another way? A better way,” he said, before taking a bite of his sandwich.
    “ What other way is there? The internship is the way,” I said.
    “ What if your money problems and school problems could be taken care of without the internship?” he asked.
    I looked at him with confusion as I tried to process what he was saying. Was he going to write me a check or something? I didn’t understand. Wouldn’t it be better for me to just have the internship so he could get something out of giving me the money?
    “ Well, that would be nice and all, but that’s not exactly feasible. You make money by working for it,” I said.
    “ What if I paid your expenses and made sure you were taken care of? Would that be something you’d be interested in?” Blake asked.
    My foot shook incessantly underneath the table as I tried to understand him. Was I dreaming all this? Was he just going to pay my bills? It couldn’t be that easy, especially with a man like him.
    “ In exchange for what, exactly?” I asked.
    “ You ,” he said, as he looked me directly in the eye.
    “ Me ?” I asked, in shock.
    He continued to eat his cucumber sandwich, all the while looking at me and not answering. I had to admit it was a nice proposal and all. What girl doesn’t want free money? I could definitely focus on my grades and everything, and taking the extra classes the internship was going to replace wouldn’t even be a problem because I wouldn’t have to get a part-time job to pay the bills.
    “ So, you’re just going to give me money? Was I that good the other night?” I asked.
    Blake chuckled a little, and I saw some of the first emotion I had ever seen out of him. That was either a good thing or a very bad thing.
    “ You were great, but I’m not going to just give you money, Penelope. The world doesn’t work like that,” he said.
    “ Then what?” I asked.
    “ You’ll be, well, my company, if you know what I mean. You’ll escort me to parties and events, you’ll make me look good, and you’ll satisfy my needs when I have them—and I have them often, Penelope. In exchange for all that, I’ll make sure your bills are paid and you’re pampered whenever you feel you need it,” Blake said.
    “ So I’d be your hooker?” I asked, with my eyebrows furled.
    “ Oh no, Penelope! Don’t think of it like that. I’m not paying you for sex. I’m paying you for your company and time. Don’t you think you’re worth it?” he asked.
    Morally, I felt like he wanted me to be his personal prostitute. On the other hand, it would free up my time and allow me to do whatever I wanted and keep my grades up. I guessed the term wasn’t really “prostitute” for this kind of thing. What did they call it? Oh yeah, sugar baby or something like that. I did remember seeing a year ago about that software billionaire Roman Parker who married the woman he was doing this exact thing with. Yeah, her name was Natalie or something. The word got out, probably an inside slip, and instead of backing away, they owned it and showed the world how much they loved each other. What if that happened to me? What if Blake married me over this one day? Get it together, Penny. One step at a time.
    “ What exactly would you take care of for me?” I asked, wanting to probe him a little further.
    “ Anything you need. You’ll have a direct line to me and I’ll take care of it all. Just say the word,” he said.
    “ And this will be what, a secret? What happens if we’re at a