Millionaire Girlfriend

Chapter 1: Chapter 1 - Ashley Gresham

"That’ll be ten dollars," a young brunette said after briefly lifting the hem of her T-shirt before pulling it back down.

"What? But I barely even had time to look," replied a skinny boy. He wasn’t particularly athletic and wore a pair of glasses.

"Yeah... In seventeen years of your life, those are probably the only boobs you’ve ever seen besides your mom’s. You should be grateful I’m even showing you mine just because I need the money," the girl shot back.

"Besides, we agreed that I’d help you build the confidence to talk to girls, not help you live out your fantasies, okay?" she added before walking out of the boy’s bedroom.

Her name was Ashley Gresham.

She had hazel eyes and stood five foot eight.

She was eighteen years old and a freshman in college.

She had been thrilled to finally leave the foster home behind and start college, believing it would be the first step toward the better life she had dreamed about for years.

Reality, however, was nothing like the dream she had held onto for so long.

She worked two jobs just to afford food. Exhaustion made it nearly impossible to focus on her classes, and more than once she wondered if she had chosen the wrong major.

Worst of all...

She was completely alone in the world.

"Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful evening!" she said to a customer for what felt like the hundredth time that day as another group left the small diner where she worked.

She had been working there for the past four months, every day after class until late at night.

Working the night shift was exhausting, but the job helped her pay her share of the rent for the apartment she shared with four roommates.

"Ashley, you can head home now. It’s almost midnight, and you’ve got class early tomorrow," said her boss.

She was a tall woman, standing just under six feet. She wasn’t particularly overweight, yet her height gave her a charm that was difficult to describe.

"Are you sure?" Ashley asked.

"The nightclubs are packed tonight. It’s Friday. Plenty of people will stop by after partying to grab something to eat."

There was a reason her boss had opened a diner in that neighborhood.

One night, after leaving a party with her friends, they had all been drunk and starving, only to discover that every nearby restaurant was closed.

That frustrating experience inspired her to open her own late-night diner in the area.

The place had become quite popular and was well loved by the neighborhood’s nightlife crowd.

"They can all go to hell, those drunks," she said.

"I’m leaving early today because I’ve got a date," she added with a wide smile, swaying excitedly from side to side.

"A date? At midnight? I don’t know if that’s a good idea. He could be a serial killer," Ashley said, even though she secretly suspected that her boss was a bit of a masochist and secretly hoped to meet someone who could fulfill her fantasies.

"Or the love of my life," the woman interrupted.

"Either way, don’t jinx me, okay? Now get out of my diner," she said playfully, waving her hand toward the door.

"Okay, okay," Ashley replied with a laugh as she untied her apron, gathered her belongings, and headed outside.

As she stepped onto the street, it was nearly deserted. Only the occasional car passed by, along with a few drunken strangers stumbling home after leaving a nearby nightclub.

’ Hopefully, I’m not the one who runs into a serial killer tonight,’ she thought as she began the two-kilometer walk back to the apartment she shared with her roommates on a dark night.

She couldn’t afford an Uber that evening.

When she finally reached the building, Ashley hurriedly pulled her key from her bag. Her hands trembled slightly as she unlocked the front door, irrationally expecting a shadow to grab her from behind in the empty hallway, where one of the lights had long since burned out.

She knew it was only paranoia, but that didn’t stop her heart from racing.

The moment she stepped inside, she found her four roommates gathered in the living room, once again watching a movie.

It had become something of a Friday night tradition for five girls who couldn’t afford to go out.

"What are you watching?" she asked.

"A horror movie," Ninah replied, tossing another handful of popcorn into her mouth.

"Huh?" Ashley muttered. She’d had enough frightening things for one night.

"Actually... do you finally have your share of the rent? That pervert of a landlord always uses the rent as an excuse to come inside," Ninah said, her face twisting in disgust as she thought of the old man, who always stared at the young women in a way that made them uncomfortable whenever they crossed paths.

And the worst part was that he didn’t even try to hide it.

"Don’t worry. I already have it," Ashley said, pulling an envelope from her bag and handing it to her.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" she exclaimed, taking ten dollars out of her wallet.

"There. Now it’s all there," she added with a smile.

It was the same ten dollars she had earned earlier by sacrificing a piece of her dignity.

She had grown used to doing outrageous things just to survive.

She had no choice.

The world wasn’t fair to everyone.

"Awesome! Want to watch the movie with us? I’ll explain everything so you’ll be able to follow the story," said Ginah, another one of her roommates and Ninah’s twin sister.

"No," Ashley replied without hesitation.

"I still have class tomorrow morning. I’m going to bed."

With that, she headed to her room.

Beep...Beep.....Beep

Ashley’s alarm rang the next morning, announcing yet another day of suffering.

It dragged her awake after a restless night. She had barely slept because of her roommates screaming while watching their horror movie.

"Damn it, Ashley! Turn that thing off. Some of us are still trying to sleep," someone complained from the other side of the apartment.

As if she hadn’t been the one keeping Ashley awake with all that screaming the night before.

"Sorry!" Ashley called back before quickly silencing the alarm.

She didn’t even bother making a sarcastic comment.

She was far too exhausted to care.

Only then did she realize she had to hurry if she didn’t want to be late for class.

"Bla, bla, bla...

...maximum satisfaction...

Bla , bla, bla"

That was about all Ashley remembered from her economics professor’s lecture.

Looks like another day of not understanding a single thing, she thought.

’ Maybe I’m destined to spend the rest of my life as a waitress... unless I somehow find a rich, handsome man willing to marry me.’

Once again, Ashley drifted into another fantasy.

A perfect life.

No work.

No college.

Just a dream.

"You’re late again," said Viviane, Ashley’s other boss at the café where she worked.

"Sorry!" Ashley apologized as she hurried to put on her apron.

"Take this to the customer at table three," Viviane said, handing her a tray.

Ashley accepted it with a grateful smile.

"Here’s your order. Enjoy your meal," Ashley said, forcing the warmest smile she could manage despite the fact that she hadn’t eaten a single thing all day.

"Thank you ," replied a young blonde woman with blue eyes, dressed in an elegant two-piece suit that looked incredibly expensive.

"You’re welcome," Ashley answered with another polite smile.

As she took a closer look at the customer, something about her face suddenly seemed familiar.

"Oh... I know you," Ashley said, trying to remember where she had seen her before.

"Really? I know you too," the blonde replied with an even brighter smile.

"Right. You’re the girl who left me a really generous tip at my other job," Ashley said confidently.

How could she possibly forget the face of someone who had tipped her twenty dollars when most customers rarely gave her more than five.

The blonde’s smile faded for a brief moment in disappointment.

"Personally, I was hoping you’d remember me because we’ve been in the same economics program for the past five months," she explained.

"Really? I’m so sorry. My mind usually wanders during lectures," Ashley admitted apologetically.

"My name’s Ashley. What’s yours?" she asked, extending her hand.

"My name is Clara. Nice to meet you... even though I already knew your name."

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