The Dinner - Stanking Rich! - 1

Aubrianne Ivanov

Jada's idea was to have a hair salon, nail salon, and a spa in one, along with an actual clothing store with clothing for a toddler going straight up to adults.

With all types of accessories, from watches, jewelry, sunglasses, handbags, and purses. Also, different belt designs, a hygiene section, beauty products, hair selections, everything one can find at a typical clothing store, and so much more.

Making it an authentic One Stop Boutique where you can shop for clothing, get your nails, hair, face, massages done, and more!

Hearing Jada's news of settling and starting fresh made Aubrianne truly happy that she was making boss moves. This would be a positive move for Jada!

Now, Jada did not want Mr. Grey to think for a second that she was only interested in him because she needed help. It could be the stigma of that strip club, but when it comes to men, sheesh!

Jada always treads carefully because of her experiences, and just like how Aubrianne overthinks everything, Jada only does that when it comes to men.

Aubrianne had laughed at Jada's worry about sharing this with Mr. Grey because she did not want him to get the wrong idea about her.

Because that could not be further from the truth, she had worked her a$$ off and saved her earnings to start her business.

She did not need his help and planned to show him just that.

Apparently, Mr. Grey had questioned her likes and dislikes also. Aubrianne had told Jada she believed Mr. Grey was simply trying to get to know her.

Jada blushed profusely, which caused Aubrianne to almost fall off the couch as Jada's response shocked her out of her mind. Well, out of the sofa in this instance.

Who was this version of Jada here with her now?

Nevertheless, Jada had mentioned she had opened up to him a little.

At first, it was primarily trivial things, but then he wanted to discuss her plans for the future and aspirations.

However, she held back some things.

Usually, Jada never gave a f**k about what anybody thought of her, and suddenly she cared about what Ivan might feel about her.

So she had planned to only open up about that when she started making her own moves. As soon as she settles down, she would like to first find the perfect spot for her One Stop Beauty Boutique.

Before they knew it, the evening had passed, and now they were getting ready. They talked some more about the rest of Jada's sweet time with Mr. Grey. Sorry, Ivan!

How he had taken his time bathing her, then breakfast came, and they spent the rest of the day in bed talking, getting to know each other.

Also, more importantly, Jada assisted Aubrianne with the help of Leia to block her thoughts and mask her emotions. Aubrianne was adamant about learning at least this before the dinner.

An hour later, the girls were dressed and out the door. They dressed in cute, chic outfits. Aubrianne wore the necklace her mother left for her. The emerald glittered beautifully around her neck, complimenting her look.

She wore a gorgeous long-sleeved, light pink cashmere mini dress, singed at the waist, with a thin silver belt and gray leather pants. A pair of pink and gray heels.

Her hair was out with a side part with flowing, unkept curls, while Jada wore a light cream knee-length sun dress with yellow flowers and beige wedges.

Her hair was slicked back in a low ponytail. They both opted for light natural makeup.

With Jada's help, Aubrianne found the details in her mother's diary about the necklace being a means to dampen her sheer power and the force of her aura.

She was saved from the task of having to scan through the entire diary looking for the part her mother mentioned the necklace.

Aubrianne's dad had sent a car for them. It was then she realized she had not driven her sweet ride yet, but Aubrianne knew she would certainly be driving herself to work on Monday with Jada in tow.

Nevertheless, Aubrianne had used the time on this ride to calm her nerves and prepare for this dinner where she would meet her father's family.

Honestly, she hoped that things went smoothly and that everyone welcomed her. But she knew that was a fairytale.

This was real life, and in life, people can be mean. They can be unaccepting of situations like hers when she has absolutely nothing to do with her parents' decisions.

But she still hoped to be welcomed and loved by her siblings and Christen.

However, where Christen was concerned, she was not looking for another mother to replace hers. She already had a mother. Even though she was no longer on this earth because she had died and passed on.

Athalia was still her mother, and she would always cherish the time that she had with her.

With Christen, she does not mind a relationship with the woman, maybe more of an aunt or elderly friend or something along those lines. She couldn't quite place the type of relationship yet.

All she knew was that it would not be a mother-daughter relationship.

"We are here," Jada spoke, squeezing Aubrianne's hands for comfort and support. The driver had announced it, but Aubrianne was lost in her thoughts.

They were both wide-eyed at the spread before them! Which was under every security, guards lined the entire property, and you could see cameras on top of the buildings, at least the ones as far as she could see with her wolf eyes.

It was an elaborate estate where they saw no shortage of recreational amenities. Its mesmerizing grounds include a vast putting green, a tennis court, a koi pond, a sparkling pool, and an impressive spa.

There were, 'twenty-four, twenty-five," Aubrianne counted the number of main barns. She estimated a twenty-seven-stall main barn for his horses. This was one of the things he had told her about.

Seeing it now was way different than what she had imagined. Her father also grooms, trains, and sells horses.

However, they never ride them as the horses fear the werewolves; they sense that they are not merely humans.

"Oh Goddess, Aubrianne? Your father is loaded. I assumed he was rich, but honey," Jada paused dramatically, giving Aubrianne facial expressions that read d@mn b!tch, then she continued...

"He is rich, rich, stanking rich, he has sh1t in platinum toilets money, well off..."

"Ok, ok, I get it, Jada. Would you stop!" Aubrianne waved her off. Goodness, all that seemed to do was make her more nervous.

Jada offered comfort, reassuring Aubrianne and letting her know she was not alone. She had both her and Leia. Leia had agreed and put in her two cents as well.

Pulling up to the grand entrance, Aubrianne closed her eyes, breathing in and out a couple of times, putting on her armor as if preparing for battle.

To say Aubrianne was worried was an understatement. She recalled that she had done extensive research on wealth for her studies. Where she quickly learned that money was the root of all evil from the cases her professor had given her to study and give financial advice on the best ways forward.

The bottom line, she has done a deep dive into how those wealthy families handle their monies currently and come up with ways they can invest for continued growth, etc.

This opened her up to a lot of information about what some people would do for insurance money, inheritances, and the like. She had actually aced her studies.

Nevertheless, with this type of money, she was walking into. Hmn, she could not help but wonder.

What would have been split among his children in two ways would now be split three ways. Maybe the accountant in her caused her to reach as far as Mars and come back.

But she felt deep down that fitting in might be more challenging than everyone had said.

All the convincing Jada and Leia were trying to do, to convince her that things would be ok, she would not give in. She could not!

They exited the car and were met by her father, Christen, and Tobias. They were all dressed formally and looked really pleasant.

Aubrianne had scanned the group with a warm smile, and her keen eyes remained trained on Christen and Tobias's features.