AliasSydney502
Cadet
Title: Cheap
Genre: S/V
Summary: Sydney’s at the bottom of the food chain, Vaughn’s at the top.
Total Chaps: 23 + 2 Epilogues
Chapter 1
“Can you spare a dollar, sir?” Sydney asked, holding out her hands that were barely covered in ragged mittens, begging for money from strangers. She had been living on the streets since she was eighteen. So, she panhandled for a living, but she wouldn’t call this living.
”Did you see Lauren’s new purse?” Her best friend Francie Calfo whispered to her in study hall. “I mean, it says PRADO!” She laughed and Sydney joined in.
“She is so cheap.” Sydney added.
“If you can’t afford it, don’t even try.” Francie rolled her eyes. It was known throughout the school that Lauren was there only because of financial aid and scholarships, which meant she was poor.
“I bet she can’t even afford ‘Targé’.” Sydney joked, making the name of Target sound classy by pronouncing it in French. They continued laughing and kept talking through the rest of the bell.
“Go back to the gutter.” The man replied, cruelly pushing her back into the alley she called home. It contained all of her belongings. Which was basically a box, an old blanket, and the clothes on her back. She stumbled to the ground, not bothering to get back up again. If she didn’t have money to get food, what was the point?
Sydney looked down at her old, ripped clothing that hung loosely on her scrawny frame. She looked every bit the beggar she was. She hadn’t had new clothes in a very long time, but she was used to it.
Sydney crawled back into her home, a cardboard box sitting up against a tall building in a dark alley. She pulled her only blanket over her body to keep the chill away. With the many rips and holes in the fabric, she never failed to shiver at night. But she didn’t cry. She hadn’t cried in a long, long time. She knew it wouldn’t make life any better.
***
“Stacy, I need you to get in touch with my two o’clock and tell them I’m going to be running a little late and you can cancel the staff meeting and move it to tomorrow.” Michael Vaughn talked into his cell phone as he walked down the crowded sidewalk. If he didn’t find the building soon, he was going to be late with a very important client. Even being the president of his own company, Vaughn & Co., he still had to bend over backwards for his special clients.
“Yes sir. I’ll get right on that Mr. Vaughn.” He cringed, having told her to call him Michael a million times. Mr. Vaughn was his dad, not him. It made him feel old to be called that.
“I’ll talk to you later.” He looked at his watch and cursed under his breath at the time. “I have a meeting to be late for.” He hung up, slipping his phone into his pant pocket. He walked the sidewalk for another moment before coming to a stop outside a very large, very shiny building.
His client’s name was etched in stone on the outside of the building and he entered through the glass doors. Looking around the classily decorated lobby, he couldn’t help but think this guy must’ve made thousands of dollars a day.
TBC...
Genre: S/V
Summary: Sydney’s at the bottom of the food chain, Vaughn’s at the top.
Total Chaps: 23 + 2 Epilogues
Chapter 1
“Can you spare a dollar, sir?” Sydney asked, holding out her hands that were barely covered in ragged mittens, begging for money from strangers. She had been living on the streets since she was eighteen. So, she panhandled for a living, but she wouldn’t call this living.
”Did you see Lauren’s new purse?” Her best friend Francie Calfo whispered to her in study hall. “I mean, it says PRADO!” She laughed and Sydney joined in.
“She is so cheap.” Sydney added.
“If you can’t afford it, don’t even try.” Francie rolled her eyes. It was known throughout the school that Lauren was there only because of financial aid and scholarships, which meant she was poor.
“I bet she can’t even afford ‘Targé’.” Sydney joked, making the name of Target sound classy by pronouncing it in French. They continued laughing and kept talking through the rest of the bell.
“Go back to the gutter.” The man replied, cruelly pushing her back into the alley she called home. It contained all of her belongings. Which was basically a box, an old blanket, and the clothes on her back. She stumbled to the ground, not bothering to get back up again. If she didn’t have money to get food, what was the point?
Sydney looked down at her old, ripped clothing that hung loosely on her scrawny frame. She looked every bit the beggar she was. She hadn’t had new clothes in a very long time, but she was used to it.
Sydney crawled back into her home, a cardboard box sitting up against a tall building in a dark alley. She pulled her only blanket over her body to keep the chill away. With the many rips and holes in the fabric, she never failed to shiver at night. But she didn’t cry. She hadn’t cried in a long, long time. She knew it wouldn’t make life any better.
***
“Stacy, I need you to get in touch with my two o’clock and tell them I’m going to be running a little late and you can cancel the staff meeting and move it to tomorrow.” Michael Vaughn talked into his cell phone as he walked down the crowded sidewalk. If he didn’t find the building soon, he was going to be late with a very important client. Even being the president of his own company, Vaughn & Co., he still had to bend over backwards for his special clients.
“Yes sir. I’ll get right on that Mr. Vaughn.” He cringed, having told her to call him Michael a million times. Mr. Vaughn was his dad, not him. It made him feel old to be called that.
“I’ll talk to you later.” He looked at his watch and cursed under his breath at the time. “I have a meeting to be late for.” He hung up, slipping his phone into his pant pocket. He walked the sidewalk for another moment before coming to a stop outside a very large, very shiny building.
His client’s name was etched in stone on the outside of the building and he entered through the glass doors. Looking around the classily decorated lobby, he couldn’t help but think this guy must’ve made thousands of dollars a day.
TBC...
