Off the books

She was shocked that he seemed to think they'd met before. While she could ignore that he knew her name - Laura was also sitting there, after all, and could have told him anything - she had no memory of meeting him in the past.

"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage," she said coolly, doing her best to keep her thoughts from showing. It was a kind of rejection, but he didn't seem to mind.

"My apologies," he replied smoothly, leaning forward to place his elbows in the table, hands clasped in front of his chest. The movement drew her attention to his neat clothing. He was wearing a black vest with golden embroidery over a white shirt with a neatly folded down collar. There was a small golden chain around his throat, too large to be a choker, but too small to be a necklace. "My name is Alexander Burke. You may call me Alex."

"Alright, then," Anna glanced at her sister who seemed unsurprised by this information. "What do you want with me and my sister?"

"I have no further business with your sister," Alex said smoothly, standing up. Even his black slacks were lined with golden thread at the seams. "Only you."

That… That didn't sound right. Anna looked at Laura again, but her sister wouldn't meet her gaze. "Laura?" she prodded for information. "What does he mean?"

Her sister didn't even turn to look at her. Anna felt herself growing cold again.

"Miss Laura Walker has graciously chosen to leave you in our care as compensation," Alex explained warmly. He was smiling, but Anna couldn't bring herself to even pretend to care. This man had just told her that Laura, her older sister by two years, had just… sold her off. Traded her off. Bartered her away. Her blood and flesh sister. She began to feel ill.

"For what," she said, voice shaking, "Did my sister trade me?"

That longstanding joke her family used to make about her sister taking all of the beauty and Anna taking all of the brains hadn't come from nothing. All their lives, her sister had been followed by boys, all enamored with her delicate, pretty looks. In contrast, Anna had been called plain and left to her own devices. Some had even gone so far as to say it was fortunate she was so intelligent or she'd never get anywhere in life. At the time, she'd only smiled thinly, thinking, 'People will say anything to feel better about themselves.' She'd forgiven all of them for their ignorance, but she would be lying if she didn't acknowledge those comments had hurt.

When they'd graduated from high school, her parents had died in a terrible car accident, leaving behind a moderate sum of money to be divided between them. Laura had splurged with it, decorating herself through her last years of college to attract a man she might actually like. Anna had chosen to divide her money up into three portions, the greater of which she put towards her education. She placed a second portion into investments. The remainder, she had kept to help with her living expenses.

Anna remembered she and Laura had argued a great deal at the time. Her sister had been adamant about the money from their parents' death being hers to spend on herself. Laura had taken it as money with which to console herself. Anna had disagreed and they'd ultimately argued for two weeks before she'd finally shaken her head and agreed to let Laura do as she wanted so long as Laura never came asking for money. Laura had agreed. Their finances would, from that point on, remain separate.

Before Alex could answer her, she pulled a chair out from under the table and sat in it. "What did you do?" she asked, facing Laura directly.

"I-I didn't do anything!" her sister answered her. Her eyes were tearing up again, but Anna couldn't find it in herself to feel merciful given her present situation.

"You're lying," Anna accused. "Tell the truth. I might be able to fix this."

"You can't!" Laura exclaimed, slapping her hands onto the table. "You can't, you can't, it's over, it's all over!�� She covered her face with her hands to muffle her own words.

Ugh. Even now, her sister was useless. She turned to Alex and his… servant. "It's money, right? Lots and lots of money?"

Alex inclined his head in answer. "Indeed. Miss Laura Walker has agreed to place you in my care for a predetermined amount of time in exchange for an appropriate sum of money."

Anna wanted to make a face, but instead closed her eyes. She knew now that she would have to close her heart to her sister. There was no other way for her to get out of this and deep down inside of her, there was a part of her that knew that if she didn't lock her sibling out, any affection she may have had would turn into hatred. "How long and how much?" she asked, seeking further information. She leaned back in the chair. It was surprisingly comfortable, padded with very plush cushions.

There was a brief pause, but Anna could be very patient. She had learned to be, living with her sister.

Finally, an answer: "You will be in my care for a minimum of three years. In exchange, Miss Laura Walker will receive a direct deposit of five thousand dollars into her bank account once a month."

She gripped the armrest of the chair with her hands to keep from getting up to strangle her stupid, stupid sister. Five thousand dollars? A month? And for what? What the hell did she need that much money for? It wasn't even lump sum? Her sister wasn't going to be able to take care of anything with her spending habits. A normal person would be able to live comfortable with that much money, but past experience had taught her that Laura would spend it on rent and then clothes and frippery, eating cheap food every day.

If Laura was smart, she would remember to put some towards her student loans, but at this point, Anna doubted she would.

She was furious with her sister, so angry that she could spit blood born from spite alone.

"What do you want me for?" she asked evenly, her eyes still closed. If she kept them closed, she wouldn't have to look at her despicable sister or this monster of a man who traded in people.

There was another pause, longer this time.

"Ahem, yes," Alex finally coughed. "I was hoping you would be my companion."

Anna's eyes flew open as she turned icy eyes on the man. He'd reseated himself, his hands neatly folded on the table. "Companion?" she repeated.

"A friend!" Alex blurted out. "I'm just looking for someone intelligent to talk with in the evenings. I don't mean any harm!"

Something was off. Glancing between her sister and this man, Anna could practically taste the strangeness in the air. He seemed to be fairly reasonable so far. Her sister, on the other hand, was acting distraught - as well she should.

"I'd like to speak with my sister alone if you don't mind," Anna said finally. It took all of her willpower to keep from clenching her teeth and making a fist with her hand. She'd never been one for violence, but she was suddenly understanding every awkwardly written out scene she'd ever encountered.

"Of course," Alex agreed easily. His black eyes moved from her to Laura and back again, as though he was interested in the proceedings. The man that had brought her here moved immediately, stepping out of the way so Alex could stand. "Will five minutes be enough?"

"Plenty," Anna agreed. "Isn't that right, Laura?"

Her sister startled, dropping her hands from her face to nod quickly.

In only a few moments, the siblings were alone.

Anna stood up, easing the chair back as she marched to her sister's side.

"What are you thinking right now?" she asked her sister. She was curious to know what Laura thought of this. Was she getting what she wanted? Had she gotten too deep?

"I-I-" Laura couldn't even speak.

Disgusted, Anna lashed out, dragging her sister out of her seat by the hair, fingers twining into that beautiful golden braid. "What the hell were you thinking?" she hissed into Laura's face. "You're my older sister! Aren't you supposed to be taking care of me? Aren't you supposed to be looking out for me?"

Laura screamed at the sudden attack, her hands moving to her scalp as though she could do anything about Anna's anger. Anna dragged her sister's braid back and forth as though she were playing tug of war with a tug.

"Please!" Laura screamed. "Please! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

Anna pulled viciously before letting go. Laura staggered, nearly falling onto the table. "Sorry doesn't do much for me right now, does it? What the hell is your problem? We all knew you were dumb, but who the hell could have expected this? Who could have known you would be so stupid as to betray your own blood?"

"I didn't mean it!" Laura sobbed, leaning heavily on the table. Her sky blue eyes were clouded and the edges of her eyes grew pink from agitation. "I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it!"

"What did you mean, then?" Anna demanded, getting in her sister's face. "What did you think was going to happen? That you were going to make some stupid deal and come out of it smelling like roses? You can't step in and out of the gutter without getting crap on your shoes!"

"I know, I know!" Laura's cries rendered her words almost useless. "I'm sorry, I needed the money!"

"For what?" Anna wanted to know. She was incredulous that her sister could still be thinking this way. "What could you possibly need five thousand dollars a month for? Hm?"