7- Sent Shopping with a Killer

Naomi's POV

The next morning...

I open my eyes to the distinctive sound of the door sliding open into my room. I sit straight up, forgetting that I didn't have my uniform on to cover my chest. I feel my face redden, so I pull up my blanket to cover my chest after it falls revealing my pink bra. He smirks in my direction before clearing his throat and speaking. "Time for you to get up, sleepyhead. Once you're dressed, come straight to my office!" He says, before turning around and leaving without another word. I get up and put on my maid's uniform. It didn't make sense to me why he forced me to wear this skimpy uniform while all of the rest of his maids wore regular clothes with an apron. Why was I different?

Stepping into the small bathroom, I brushed my hair and braided it into one long braid. Feeling satisfied with how I looked, I turned and headed down to his office, wondering what he wanted me to do today. I wondered if I would get anything to eat today, as I was starving. Feeling butterflies fluttering in my stomach, I step up to his office door and tap lightly on it, waiting for him to answer the door. The door swings open and I see Sam standing in front of me. "Well, well... if it's not your pretty young maid boss!" he says winking at me as he holds open the door for me to step inside.

"Hello Naomi, I'm glad you're here. Breakfast was just served, so please help yourself," he said motioning toward the table, where breakfast was set. I studied his face, trying to determine if he was being serious or not.

Sam smirked at my discomfort. "He is not punishing you for anything today, Naomi. You are free to eat." He spoke with a smirk on his face.

"Okay, thanks," I replied, walking over to the table. I picked a blueberry scone from the tray. It seemed like the healthiest choice. On the tray were also donuts and cinnamon rolls. I also noticed some sausage links, scrambled eggs, and some toast. I settled in a chair with my scone and watched Milo grab eggs and sausage as well as a cup of coffee and sit at his desk. "Can I have some milk by any chance?"

"Yes, I'll grab that, boss," Sam says as he stands up and heads outside to get it for me.

"Thank you, Sam," Milo says as he watches him leave. I sit there, eating my scone while watching him closely. I was not willing to lower any of my defenses for him. I had set my wall so high that he would never get through it. "So Naomi... I have a special request for you today!"

I stare at him in alarm. "What do you mean by special request?" I ask him, gasping for breath.

"Well one of my rival gangs is throwing a ball tonight, and I was asked to attend. The problem is, I kind of need a date for it, so I was wondering if I could take you with me?" he replied, his eyes full of mischief.

"Why me?" I ask, my mouth hanging open.

"Well, since I own you!" he replies with a smirk on his face; that annoying smirk pissed me off. I stare blankly back at his already dark eyes, unsure of what to say. He is right, and that's what irritates me the most. He owns me because of my father, so technically he doesn't have to give me a choice!

"Have I any choice here?" I inquired, simply because I had to.

"Nope." He smiles and flashes me his pearly whites... I watch Sam bring me a tall glass of cold chocolate milk and set it down on the table near me.

"What's going on here? Sorry, Naomi, they didn't have any regular milk, so I hope you like chocolate okay!" he said with a friendly smile.

"There's nothing going on, I just asked her to be my date for tonight's ball at the Grey's!" he announced with pride.

"No... you just told me I didn't have a choice but to be your damn date!" I scream back at him. He glares at me. I gulp down some air before I hear a small chuckle coming from Sam.

"Oh yeah, that's right. I wonder why you were invited?" Sam says as he sits in one of the chairs that sit directly in front of Milo's desk.

Milo states with a soft chuckle, "Oh, I can tell you... but not in front of her. By the way, how about taking her shopping for a dress for the event?" I look up as he slams his hand down on the desk.

"Oh I'll be happy too, I get alone time with her, count me in!" Sam said with a smirk across his face.

He clears his throat and stares at Sam with an angry look. "Don't even touch her, Sam, she's off-limits!" he growled. I could hear it in his voice. He was angry that Sam would ever think I was his.

I saw a smile creep across his face as he answered, "Yes, sir... I had been waiting for you to officially stake your claim on that girl!" Glaring back at him, I let my mouth drop. They were seriously talking about that? In front of me?

"Oh, Sam... I'm not staking a claim on her, just don't touch my merchandise!" he yells with a throaty laugh, giving him a dirty look.

Sam held his hands up in front of him as though he was on guard and protecting himself from Milo. Maybe he was a little offended. I watch as he shrugs his shoulders, "Whatever boss... come on Naomi, let's go get your dress." He stands up and I follow him out of the room, outside to the driveway where I see a black SUV sitting there waiting for us. He opens the passenger side door for me to climb in before closing it behind me. I buckle up, as he walks over and hops in the driver's seat, starting the truck.

"Is this for real, Sam?" I asked him.

He glanced over at me for a moment. "Serious about what?" He seemed a little confused.

"Is he serious about you keeping your hands off me? What about taking me as his date to this ball? Please, Sam, tell me what is going on here." I begged him.

"I don't understand what you mean. I do know he was serious about the ball, Naomi! Why would he take you on a date? I am not sure. Usually, he hires an escort to do the job. "Maybe he does like you a tiny bit?" he smirks, keeping his gaze on the road.

"You mean to tell me he likes me?" I ask him, a bit surprised he would be talking to me at all. "But he told me he couldn't fall in love."

"Oh, he can too," he interrupts. "He just keeps throwing up walls," he scoffs. The truck came to a stop in front of the mall. I was eager to go shopping. I was out in the open, so maybe I could run into someone I know. Plus, it was one of my favorite things to do. I walked to the mall with Sutter all the time. He looked at me and then said, "You'll behave, right?"

I look at him with wide eyes and ask, "What do you mean?"

He turns to face me. "You won't try to run away will you?" he says, reaching across the car towards the glove box, in front of me.

"No, I won't run away!" I told him.

"Ok, but here, I'm gonna tuck this in my pants just in case!" he says, flashing me a small gun. Then I realized he was probably threatening me. I didn't think he would use it against me anyway, but I decided that I'd better be on my best behavior today. "Here," he replies, and I stare at him in confusion as he holds out the long sweatshirt towards me. "To cover that," he says, pointing down at my uniform. It dawned on me that if people saw me walking around like this, they'd probably think something was wrong here. Normal people don't walk around in revealing maid costumes at the mall.

I jump out of the SUV and pull on the big oversized sweatshirt. It practically covered my uniform by itself. I felt really thankful for it. It was soft and warm and it made us look more like an everyday couple shopping in a mall. Camouflage, that's what it was for... "Sam, what sort of ball are we heading to?"

He smiles at me as we enter the mall. "Oh, it's the usual kind. Rich people, big flashy dresses and suits, lots of drama, lots of chatter. He's allowed one security guard and I got chosen because sweetheart I'm the most proficient at what I do. Oh, and BTW, that is killing."

I gulped down the air. "Killing... you mean like killing people?" I shrieked, taking a step back and putting myself on guard again against him.

"Yep... Have you ever hung out with a killer, Naomi?" he asked me, turning slightly and wrapping his hand around my wrist.

I looked up at him, "What do you mean?" I was surprised he was mentioning this here in the mall of all places. Maybe he thought it would increase his chances of me not running away. But I wasn't planning on running away after Milo starved me like that yesterday. He really should keep it all to himself!

"I have killed people, Naomi. So has your man Milo. Nobody gets to the top without getting their hands dirty in some way." He chuckles, walking through the mall with a knowing look on his face.

He stops in front of a fancy one. "Let's try this one! It looks like they have some pretty stuff." He says as he gestures toward the dress in the window. I follow him into a store designed specifically for prom shopping, from the looks of the dresses around us. Given what I know now about the two guys I was going to this thing with, how could I possibly pick one out of them? I wasn't even sure if I could enjoy myself now that he had told me all of that. "Do you see any that you like? Any you want to try on?"

I turn around and see a gorgeous black dress on a rack behind me. It had a deep neckline and was backless. I thought about it a little bit but decided against trying it. I would look so out of place in it due to the low neckline. I'd never felt comfortable displaying my body in any way. I stood there studying a dark emerald green slim gown when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to face Sam, as he held out a dress towards me. "Here try this one on. I think it would suit you pretty well." I looked down at the dress he was holding out to me and gasped. He held a stunning blue ball gown-style dress. I snatched the soft fabric and turned toward the dressing room when my eyes landed on a stunning red dress. I eyed it closely but made my way into the room to try on the dress Sam handed me.

I step out of the dressing room and head for the mirror. I twirl around, studying my reflection. I looked pretty nice, but I kept eyeing that pretty red dress. "Sam, I want to try that one on!" I pointed to the dress, and I saw a mischievous smile creep across his face.

"That one?" He asks as he grabs it from the rack and hands it to me. "It will look gorgeous on you! So try it on."

I smile at him as I grab the dress from his hands. I go to try it on... coming out of the dressing room I notice Sam taking a second look at me. In the mirror, I felt beautiful. I have always found red to be a flattering color on me. It always made me look sexier with my pale skin and blue eyes. I smiled at my reflection because I knew at that moment that I had found my dress. I took the dress off in the dressing room, knowing it wasn't anything flashy since it was a very simple style dress, but it was totally me. The only thing I didn't like about the dress was the slit in the skirt and the lack of a back. That actually seemed like it was in fashion as most of the dresses in this store were like that. I walked to the shoe racks and selected a gorgeous pair of red strappy heels that perfectly matched the red in the dress.

Satisfied with my purchases, I watch Sam pay for the dress and shoes I selected in cash. Holding onto the bag, he grasps my hand and leads me out of the store to another one. "Now... we get to shop for bling!"

"Bling?"

"Yes, the bling is all the jewelry you're going to wear with your dress. I can't wait to see Milo's face when he sees you in this dress!" he informs. I smile as we cross the spacious aisle into a jewelry store across the street.

"Why would you say something like that to me? Why does everyone seem to think he has a crush on me, except for him? He says he's incapable of falling in love!" I snap at him as he pauses in front of a counter full of beautiful diamond necklaces.

"Every time he sees something he likes, he puts up a wall. Maybe I will explain everything to you later! Now, let's look at the jewelry!" he says as he scans the pieces in the cabinet.

I scan the store, spotting some pretty necklaces I walk away from Sam up to the lady behind the counter. "Hello...what are you shopping for today?" she asks looking at us both very carefully.

"I am in need of some jewelry to match a red dress I recently purchased for a ball I am off to tonight," I tell her. "I can show you the dress."

"Awe, follow me, I have just what you need here," she said, leading us toward the back of the store, where a cabinet sat. There was a necklace inside. It's gorgeous, and I point it out to Sam, who smiles at me.

"Sam, look at that necklace set, it's absolutely gorgeous!" I almost screamed with joy.

The lady smiled at me: "The girl really knows what she likes, but this one here is expensive! May I suggest this one?" she smiled and I glared at the one she was holding up. It was much less sparkly. It was also so simple in design compared to the one I had my eye on, but before I could object, Sam...

"She said she wanted to see that one... cost is not an issue for me!", he growls at her and uses an authoritative tone.

She nods her head, "Yes sir, my apologies!" she says and takes the set I had first noticed and hands it over. It was $3,500 for the piece I held in my hand. However, I knew it would look stunning on me and with the dress we bought, so I had to have it. I gave Sam a pleading look. I watch as he hands her a wad of cash, and she picks up the jewelry set and places it inside a grey velvet box. I wondered how much cash he was carrying right now.

As we walked out of that store, Sam looked at me with an exhausted look on his face. "Are we done yet?" he asked me. I knew guys did not enjoy spending time shopping with us girls. I let out a small laugh at the look he gave me.