Chapter 71

Elena stared at the glossy black card for several seconds before slowly looking up at Richard.

Then she placed it back on the table and pushed it toward him.

"This is too much."

She wasn't going to pretend she didn't like money. Of course she did.

But Richard had already given her a car, jewelry, and a closet full of clothes. Taking a card like this on top of everything else made her uncomfortable.

Besides, relationships changed. People changed.

If Richard regretted any of this one day, she certainly wasn't going to stand in front of a man like him and argue that he had given it all to her willingly. Someone with his resources had far too many ways to make her regret that argument.

Richard set down his coffee.

"I mean it," Elena said with a sigh. "You already gave me a car, jewelry, all those clothes…"

She tapped the edge of the card with one finger.

"If you really want to give me some spending money, just give me a few hundred dollars. I can use it to pay my phone bill or something."

Richard looked at her.

Elena hesitated, then stood.

"I was planning to make my own money anyway. I could pick up paid dance gigs. I could tutor high school students."

It wasn't as if she had never done either before.

Richard watched her for a few seconds before reaching out and drawing her naturally against his chest. Elena settled into his arms, and he rested his chin lightly on top of her head.

"You're young," he said. "You have the time and energy right now to do things you may not have the chance to do later."

His voice was calm against her hair.

"These years won't come back once they're gone. If you spend too much of them doing things you could just as easily do ten years from now, that would be the real waste."

His arm tightened slightly around her.

"Invest in yourself first. There will be plenty of time to worry about earning money later."

Elena went quiet.

She had expected him to say something like, I have more than enough money. You don't need to work.

Considering just how rich he was, it wouldn't even have surprised her.

But that wasn't what he meant.

Richard wasn't telling her that making money was beneath her, or that she should simply depend on him. He wanted her to use the freedom she had now to learn, experience things, and become more capable before worrying about what she could earn.

Elena turned her head and looked up at him.

Warmth spread quietly through her chest.

"Thank you."

She leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth, her gratitude completely open.

"I mean it."

Richard's eyes dropped to her lips.

Before Elena could pull away, his hand closed around the back of her neck and he kissed her again—hard enough to turn her gentle thank-you into something else entirely.

Elena made a muffled sound of surprise and caught instinctively at his sleeve. Whatever she had been about to say disappeared into the kiss.

By the time Richard left for the office, he had still managed to make her take the card.

The weekend arrived quickly.

And with it came another car.

Elena stood in the courtyard, staring at the pearl-white Ferrari SF90 Stradale gleaming in the morning sun.

For a moment, she didn't know what to say.

The white paint caught the sunlight with a subtle pearlescent sheen, while dark carbon fiber and red brake calipers stood out against the bodywork.

Elena slowly circled the car.

It was gorgeous.

Even she had to admit that.

Then she turned toward Richard, who was standing nearby.

"Happy now?" she demanded. "You've been judging my RS7 since the day I got it."

Richard looked faintly helpless.

In his opinion, the Audi had always been a perfectly serviceable daily driver.

That was about it.

The SF90 was a proper Ferrari at least—a plug-in hybrid supercar with nearly a thousand horsepower and enough performance to satisfy even his standards.

Barely.

"More or less," he said.

Elena stared at him.

Richard lifted his chin slightly.

"Still a little conservative."

Her eyes widened.

"Conservative?"

Richard wisely said nothing more.

The transport truck had barely finished unloading the Ferrari when a black executive vehicle pulled into the courtyard behind it.

A well-dressed middle-aged man stepped out, carrying a brown leather portfolio. His dark suit was immaculate, and he approached Richard with the easy professionalism of someone accustomed to dealing with extremely wealthy clients.

"Mr. Sterling. Good morning."

Richard gave him a brief nod. "Good morning."

The representative then turned to Elena with a courteous smile.

"Ms. Hayes? It's a pleasure to meet you. I'll be handling the delivery today. If you'd like, I can walk you through the car before we finish the paperwork."

"Sure."

Elena followed him toward the Ferrari.

He gave her a concise overview of the SF90's plug-in hybrid system, driving modes, charging, and the controls she would actually need to know rather than burying her beneath a list of specifications.

"The exterior is finished in Bianco Italia," he said as they moved around the car. "The carbon-fiber wheels and red brake calipers were selected to keep the contrast clean without making the car too busy."

Elena bent slightly to look through the window.

The cabin was finished in a combination of red and light leather. She studied the steering wheel, displays, and controls with genuine interest while the representative explained the essentials.

"If you'd like to go through anything personally, we can do that before I leave. Your service information is already set up, and you'll have a dedicated contact for maintenance and scheduling."

Elena ran her fingertips lightly over the Ferrari badge.

A smile appeared on her face.

It really was beautiful.

A few steps away, Richard's phone rang.

He moved toward the entrance to take the call, leaving Elena with the representative.

The man glanced briefly in Richard's direction.

"Mr. Sterling has been one of our long-standing clients. He keeps three track cars with us, actually. One of them underwent a full track conversion last year—suspension, chassis setup, power delivery, the works."

Elena turned to look at Richard.

"…Really?"

So he had hobbies like that too.

The representative smiled.

"He takes his cars seriously."

That was somehow both surprising and completely unsurprising.

The rest of the process went smoothly. With everything prepared in advance, there was little for Elena to do beyond reviewing and signing the necessary documents.

Eventually, the representative closed his portfolio.

"Congratulations, Ms. Hayes. She's officially yours."

Elena looked back at the white Ferrari.

She was still trying to process the fact that she now owned one.

A Ferrari.

She checked the insurance documents even though she knew there were people who would handle practically everything for her.

It still felt unreal.

Not long after the representative left, the butler approached Richard.

"Sir, Miss Sterling has arrived. She's at the gate."