Well, well, Upper-Eastsiders. It looks like our little Cinderella girl has had the pleasure of meeting eligible bachelors, Juushiro Ukitake and Shunsui Kyoraku as well as Shunsui's hard-nosed assistant, Nanao Ise. I wonder what they think of this little mystery girl. One source spotted her excusing herself for several minutes and apparently she was followed by Nanao who seems to be concerned about the little lady of the evening.

What's wrong Nanao? Are you starting to grow soft on us?

And where has eligible bachelor number one disappeared to? Was that a call about your sister's surprise birthday party? Are you planning on bringing a date? Be careful, if you bring that little girl with you, your sister might think that you're trying to hook-up her twenty-five-year-old son with a hooker! We'd hate it if she thought you were trying to push your bad habits on your nephew. And if she knew you were dating someone young enough to be her child, she just might kill you. It would be a real shame if that happened!

It looks like Nanao has returned with the little Cinderella girl. Are you thirsty ladies? It looks like Shunsui is buying drinks again.

What's going on with you, Shunsui?

Are you flirting with Cinderella?

Is that why Nanao keeps hitting you over the head?

Are you jealous, Nanao?

Better make sure Sousuke doesn't see you, Shunsui.

And you better make sure Nanao doesn't tell him either.

I don't think he would like sharing Cinderella.

There isn't enough of her to go around.

What's that you're drinking, Cinderella? Are you even old enough to drink that? Let's hope so. We'd hate to see the elite get into trouble because of you.

Hope you're looking at Cinderella's ID, bartender.

And who do we have here?

It looks like bachelor number four, Byakuya Kuchiki has finally made an appearance.

So tell us, Byakuya, what do you think of little Cinderella?

What's this?

She looks a little upset.

Or are you just playing coy with him, Cinderella?


Momo felt even more humiliated then before. It was all she could do not to scream out in frustration and/or anger as this man sitting next to her all but called her a cheap whore.

Momo could feel her body start to shake. She didn't know how long she could take it before she started crying again. She took a deep breath in order to steady herself before she responded to his statement.

"And so what if I am? With all due respect, what does that have to do with anything?" She asked with a steady voice trying her hardest not to show how his words had affected her.

"I'm merely wondering if Sousuke has a reason for bringing a common street-walker like yourself. Normally he has enough class to bring one of his usual high-class call-girl as his escort for the evening instead of someone the lower-class like yourself," Byakuya stated coldly.

Momo continued to feel like someone was beating the hell out of her and she was growing tired of it.

'That's it! I've had enough of this! I'm not putting-up with it anymore,' Momo thought to herself. She turned her head enough to give him a cold eye.

"Well why don't you ask him? Frankly though, I don't see how it's any of your business," Momo shot back at him.

Byakuya glared at the young woman in front of him.

'Who do you think you are, young lady?' Byakuya thought angrily.

"Watch your mouth, young lady. Who do you think you are?" Byakuya said in a low voice.

"I know who I am. I'm not someone like you and you're right, I'm not some high-class call-girl either. But I know how to treat people. I was taught to treat people with respect and dignity which is clearly better than what you were taught. Do you honestly think that just because you're from the upper-class you can be such as jerk to other people?" Momo asked him angrily.

Byakuya was taken aback by the young woman's response. Byakuya was never the kind of man who would strike a woman, but at the moment he felt like slapping this girl across her face.

"It's hard to respect a common little harlot such as yourself," Byakuya said almost mockingly.

"Byakuya Kuchiki, that's no way to speak to a lady," Nanao scolded. Byakuya ignored her and waited for Momo to respond.

"Even so, I would've expected that someone who grew-up with money like yourself would have been taught how to act like a gentleman around a woman, regardless of her station in society. Clearly I was wrong. Clearly your parents couldn't afford to have someone teach you how to treat people properly," Momo shot back at him.

"I find it hard to believe that you were raised to respect others if you are speaking to me with that tone of voice," Byakuya responded.

"Well I was taught to respect others, but I was also taught to stand-up for myself. I was taught to speak-up against liars, creeps, jerks and bullies. I was also taught to fight back if necessary," Momo replied.

"I can believe that. For someone to grow-up to sell their body on the street like you do, I would imagine they didn't have a proper upbringing," Byakuya said mockingly.

"If what you mean by proper upbringing is whether or not the person grew-up in a rich family than you're right, I didn't have a proper upbringing. If you mean being raised by parents or family than no I didn't have a proper upbringing. I grew-up in foster care, I was raised by an old woman who wasn't permitted to adopt me or my foster-brother because she was old enough to be our grandmother. She was poor compared to you and the others here, but she fed us, clothed us, kept a roof over our heads. She took care of us, disciplined us, loved us as though we were her own. She taught us the meaning of hard work. She taught us about God and Jesus. She taught us all the things that really matter. She also taught us that we are no better than anyone else and that circumstances can either result in us being more fortunate or less fortunate than others. She said that we needed to respect ourselves and others, no matter what our stations in life," Momo told the man sitting next to her.

Byakuya was shocked by the young woman's statements and it showed on his face, but only briefly. When he saw that defiant look on her face he narrowed his eyes again. Once she mentioned her foster-mother teaching her to respect herself he found an opening to hit back.

"Is that so?" Byakuya said mockingly.

"Yes, that's so," Momo answered defiantly.

"Then tell me what she would think if she knew what you were doing with Sousuke," Byakuya said smugly, smirking as he did so.

Momo looked like she had been struck at his words and the smug look on his face only felt like he was rubbing salt in an open wound.

'As much as I hate to admit it he has a point. She would be so ashamed of me, but she loves me and she would surely understand. Wouldn't she?" Momo thought.

"Considering the circumstances I know she would understand my reasons for doing what I did. She would understand that I didn't know what else I could do in order to keep from going under," Momo replied.

"Is that so? When was the last time you had a job other than the one you have? Have you ever had a job other than this one?" Byakuya asked condescendingly.

"As a matter of fact I have. I have had several other jobs. Unfortunately the bad economy has resulted in repeated job losses despite working my butt-off at every job I ever took. The last time I had a job other than this one was earlier today. The factory I was working at was forced to make cut backs and since I hadn't been working there as long as many of the others I was one of the first people they let go. After finishing my last shift I cleaned out my locker, collected my last paycheck and after dropping my stuff off at home, deposited my paycheck and went looking to see if anyone was hiring. But no one is hiring. At least not anyone near enough to my apartment to walk to. Believe me, if there were any other way to keep from going under I wouldn't be here tonight. I wouldn't have sold my virginity on my birthday," Momo said.

"Hey, what are you three discussing so seriously?" Shunsui asked, drawing the attention of the three of them from the tense conversation.

"It's nothing, sir," Momo answered.

"Well, then how about that toast?" Juushiro asked taking notice of the tension between Byakuya and the two women.

'What did Byakuya say to that young woman?' Juushiro thought to himself.

"I would like that very much, sir. But could you excuse me for just a minute? I forgot to make a call to one of my friends to tell them that I won't be making it to my birthday party tonight," Momo explained.

"Of course, Miss Momo! Just hurry back soon," Shunsui said.

"Thank you, sir. I wouldn't want them to worry," Momo explained getting off her bar stool and exiting the bar.

"Excuse me, gentlemen. I need to make sure she's alright. I think she might need someone to talk to, or even a shoulder to cry on," Nanao said shooting Byakuya a dirty look before following the young woman.

"What did you say to her, Byakuya?" Juushiro asked.

"What do you mean?" Shunsui asked.

"Byakuya said something to that girl to make her upset," Juushiro told his friend.

"I merely called her on what she is. I can't be blamed for her not liking what she heard," Byakuya said coldly.

"What exactly did you say to the poor girl?" Juushiro asked.

"In short I told her that I could tell she was a common street-walker and she didn't like what she heard. We exchanged words and then she left," Byakuya said simply.

"What makes you think she's a hooker?" Shunsui asked.

"Despite the way she's dressed, there is no way she can be employed by any escort agency," Byakuya said.

"What makes you so sure about that?" Shunsui asked.

"When you met her were you already too drunk to notice her hands?" Byakuya asked.

"What about her hands?" Shunsui asked.

"They are neat and clean but they aren't manicured with nail polish the way an escort's would be," Byakuya explained.

"Even so, that's no reason for you to be cruel to the young lady. She must be in a desperate situation in order for her to be working as a prostitute on her birthday of all days," Juushiro answered.

"Assuming of course that she's telling you the truth about that," Byakuya replied.

"Excuse me, but before I started making her drink asked for some ID to make sure she was old enough to drink. She showed me her driver's license, sir. Today is her birthday. Can I get you something to drink, Mr. Kuchiki?" Nemu asked.

Byakuya felt a little like he had just been slapped across the face. Which he probably deserved.

"I'll have a scotch on the rocks," Byakuya responded.

"Single or double?" Nemu asked.

"Make it a double," Byakuya answered.

"Yes, sir. Shall I put it on your tab?" Nemu asked pouring his drink.

"Of course. I certainly wouldn't want you putting it on that lush's tab," Byakuya answered.

"There's no reason for you to be mean about," Shunsui pouted.

"Byakuya, I think you should apologize to her when she gets back. No one should have to spend their birthday the way she is," Juushiro said.

"If you insist," Byakuya said caving more easily than usual.

"How could you have been so mean to her in the first place? In all the years that I've known you, you've never been so cruel to any young woman, at least since high school. What's gotten into you?" Juushiro asked.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just getting fed-up with our mutual friend's constant womanizing. Normally I don't allow it to bother me, but tonight..." Byakuya trailed-off before taking a sip of his drink.

"I can understand your frustration over all the bad press we get in the tabloids whenever someone from our circle gets in trouble with the law or hit with a paternity suit. Or when one or more of us end-up on that damn Gossip Girl blog," Shunsui said.

"You're hardly one to talk, Shunsui. If it weren't for your assistant keeping you in line, who knows how many drunk and disorderly or paternity suits you would be facing," Byakuya shot back.

"Even so, what I think Shunsui is trying to say is that you shouldn't take things out on other people. Especially innocent people like that young woman. She's only trying to survive a tough situation the only way she thinks she can. It hasn't been easy since the economy started taking a turn for the worse. A lot of businesses are failing and others are laying-off their employees," Juushiro said.

"Very well. I'll apologize to the young woman when she returns," Byakuya agreed in order to avoid a further argument.


What have we here?

Little Cinderella is making another hasty exit.

What did you say to her Byakuya?

What did she say to you?

It looked like a rather long conversation.

Were you maybe flirting with Cinderella?

Were you whispering sweet nothings in her ear?

Or did she just misunderstand your intentions?

Be careful, she's already on a date with one of your friends.

It might not be wise move for you to make a move on Sousuke's date.

Even if she is only an escort.

So far none of my loyal readers has been successful in getting a picture of her face, but the night's still young and dinner hasn't even started yet.

So there are still plenty of opportunities to get a snapshot of Cinderella.

Until then, I'll be waiting.

Keep me posted loyal readers.

XOXO

Gossip Girl.


Meanwhile, Momo ducked out of the bar and found a quiet place before taking out her cell phone and calling Toushiro.

As she waited for her friend to answer his phone she took a few moments to calm herself, taking several deep breaths as she did so. She didn't want him finding out what she was up to this evening. But what was she going to say to him when she told him that she wouldn't be attending any birthday party held for her but she also wouldn't be coming home tonight? And how was she gonna explain if he picture ended-up in the tabloids?

'It doesn't matter. I still have to call him so that he doesn't worry about me. I owe him that much at least. I just need to figure out what to say,' Momo thought to herself.

"Excuse me," Nanao said approaching her. Momo looked up as she came to stand next to her.

"Yes, ma'am. May I help you?" Momo asked, still listening for her friend to answer.

"Are you alright? I heard a lot of the things Mr. Kuchiki said to you. They were really quite unkind. Do you need someone to talk to?" Nanao asked.

"Thank you, ma'am. Right now I'm trying to get a hold of one of my friends to let him know that- hello? Toushiro? I'm sorry. I'll have to get back to you in a little while," Momo said to the older woman before returning to her phone call.

"Of, course," Nanao replied.

"Hey, Toushiro. How are you? How was your day?" Momo asked trying to stall for time in order to come-up with an explanation to give him.

"Hey, Momo. I'm fine, thank you. Work was pretty good today. How are you? How was work?" Toushiro asked from the other end.

"I've had better days I'm sorry to say. They had to make cut backs at the factory and they let me go," Momo answered honestly.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully you'll still be able to have fun with Hisana and Rukia while you three are out celebrating your birthday. I'm sorry that I won't be able to make it myself. How about Renji or Izuru? Are either one of them going to be there?" Toushiro asked his friend.

"Actually, I won't be able to make it out clubbing tonight either. I've already called Hisana to let her know that I won't be able to celebrate tonight and I'm sure that she's already told Rukia that the partying is off for tonight. As for Renji and Izuru, Renji is working late and Izuru is out of town with his parents," Momo explained.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I take it Shuuhei isn't available either," Toushiro added.

"I'm also sure that Shuuhei is working late as well. Last time he and I spoke he said that he would probably be working late every night at least until the ninth or the tenth," Momo explained.

"I'm sorry to hear. But you haven't explained why you aren't able to go out celebrating tonight. Is there something else wrong?" Toushiro asked.

'Oh great, what am I going to tell him? That I started working as a prostitute? I can't do that, he'd kill me. Think, Momo, think,' Momo thought to herself.

"Momo? Are you still there?" Toushiro's words brought her attention back to their conversation.

"Why can't I go out celebrating tonight?" Momo said repeating his question to stall for more time.

"Yes, that is my question," Toushiro replied.

"Um, well the reason I can't is... well, it's because I..." Momo started to trail-off.

"Tell him that you're looking into a new job," Nanao told her.

"I'm looking into a new job," Momo answered.

"At night? That seems an odd time to be looking into a job,"

"Yeah, it is an odd time to be looking into a new job, but..." Momo started trailing-off again and glanced at Nanao hoping she would give her a suggestion.

"Tell him that it was the only time your potential new employer could meet with you," Nanao told her.

"It was the only time my potential new employer could meet with me," Momo answered.

"I see. What time do you think you'll be returning home?" Toushiro asked.

"What time will I be returning tonight?" Momo repeated the question again and glanced at Nanao again.

"Tell him that you might not be able to make it home tonight. And if he asks why not, tell him that you maybe working a night shift so your possible boss wants to see how well you work at night," Nanao told her.

"I might not be able to make it home tonight. My possible employer may have me working a night shift and wants to see how well I do working late hours," Momo answered.

"After working all day today? You're going to be exhausted tomorrow!"

"Well, it may not be the entire night, but since I may also be asked to do a morning shift, my potential employer is going to put me up for the night," Momo hurridly explained.

"That seems a little strange," Toushiro said.

"Well they are really considerate and don't want me to get hurt if there is an accident or something in this weather," Momo replied.

"Alright. I suppose that sounds reasonable enough. I'll probably be working all night myself. I'll probably get a nap in on a break or something," Toushiro replied.

"That's good to hear," Momo said.

"Just be careful, Momo. If you feel like you're in danger call me immediately. If the person tries to hurt you, call the police first and try to get out of there!" Toushiro warned.

"Of course. I'll be careful so don't worry. I'll see you sometime tomorrow," Momo assured him.

"Well, in that case, good night, happy birthday and God bless," Toushiro replied.

"Thank you, Toushiro. Good night and God bless," Momo replied before hanging-up. She let out a sigh of relief before returning her cell phone to her purse.

"Are you alright?" Nanao asked.

"I think so. Though I am feeling rather guilty for not telling him the whole truth," Momo said rubbing her temples a little, unknowingly blocking her face from the view of the iPhone camera of the Gossip Girl reader.

"Well what else do you think you could've told him? Are you really ready to tell him what you're doing tonight and may be doing a lot more nights for who knows how long?" Nanao asked.

"No, I'm not. But I still feel bad about being dishonest with the only brother I've ever known," Momo said.

"Come on, let's go rejoin the gentlemen," Nanao said.

"Yeah, we should do that," Momo agreed following Nanao back to the bar.

"I take it that you and your brother are close. That's rather unusual for siblings. Most siblings want to go their separate ways as soon as possible," Nanao commented.

"Yeah, well we're not related. We grew-up in the same foster home together. We're foster siblings and best friends," Momo explained.

"That's good. It must have been hard growing-up in foster care," Nanao commented.

"Not as bad as you may think. Our foster-mother was a good woman, may she rest in peace. She loved us as though we were her own. If she hadn't been old enough to be our grandmother and wasn't a widow she would've adopted us," Momo stated.

"Sounds like the two of you were lucky," Nanao said.

"Yes, we were," Momo agreed.

"Well hello, ladies. It's good to see you back. Is everything alright?" Shunsui asked.

"Yes, thank you," Momo answered cheerily.

"That's good. Now how about those drinks? You girls must be thirsty," Shunsui said.

"Yes, sir," Momo answered.

"Good. How about you sit next to me, Momo? Is that alright by you, Nanao?" Shunsui asked the two women.

"I don't mind, as long as you don't make her feel uncomfortable," Nanao answered.

"Of course I won't make her feel uncomfortable. At least not compared to Byakuya here," Shunsui said nodding in the direction of the younger man.

"Which reminds me, don't you owe Miss. Momo an apology?" Shunsui asked.

"Yes. I apologize for my statements to you, Miss. They were insensitive and uncalled for. Even more so in light of it being your birthday," Byakuya said coolly.

"I accept your apology, sir. Thank you," Momo said in reply.

"I appreciate it," Byakuya stated in the same cool tone of voice.

"That's better. I hope you'll still sit by me even though all is well with you and Byakuya here," Shusui said.

"If you would like that and as long as it's alright with Miss. Nanao," Momo said smiling sweetly.

"I don't mind at all," Nanao said taking the seat next to Byakuya.

"Alright," Momo said taking the seat next to the older man.

The women switched their drinks so that Nanao had her wine and Momo had her peach Bellini.

"So how about that birthday toast?" Shunsui suggested.

"That would be a good idea," Nanao replied.

"Thank you but that really isn't necessary," Momo protested.

"I disagree. Besides, if you were out with your friends celebrating instead of stuck here with a bunch of strangers. I'm sure they would have toasted your birthday," Nanao pointed out.

"Well yes, they probably would but I don't think you should have to try to make it up to me since it's not your fault. I made the choice to start this work tonight rather than go out and celebrate with my friends," Momo pointed out.

"Just let them do so. Otherwise they'll be feeling guilty about it all night and who knows how much longer," Byakuya said in his same even tone.

"Alright, I'll let you toast my birthday, but that's it. After that I don't want a lot of fuss. I would appreciate it if we could forego singing happy birthday. I would rather go without bringing too much attention to myself tonight. Especially since this dinner isn't about me," Momo explained.

"If you insist," Shunsui agreed.

"Well yes. I'm actually not very crazy about my friends making too much of a fuss over me. A little bit of a fuss on my birthday is alright, but a big fuss, especially in public..." Momo explained.

"Alright, I think we can agree to that. It may be a good idea to keep it low-key. Especially in light of the fact that wherever Sousuke goes, the Gossip Girl followers are normally not far away. Same story with these three gentlemen. I would imagine that in light of the fact that you don't want your friends and family finding out about this it would be best if your face didn't get posted on that awful blog. Even your friends and family don't read that blog, it would only be a matter of time before someone who does recognizes you and says something in front of or to someone you care about," Nanao agreed.

"That's another reason you all shouldn't make a fuss. My brother would probably disown me if he ever found out," Momo said.

"Well, don't you think you'll have to tell him eventually?" Nanao asked.

"I'm hoping that I'll be able to find a new job before that happens. One that doesn't involve well..." Momo said trailing-off embarrassed and turning red at the thought.

"That doesn't involve hooking-up with strange men?" Nanao asked.

"Yeah, that would be it," Momo said turning red.

"How about that toast? Let's have that toast," Shunsui suggested.

"Alright. That sounds good," Momo agreed.

"A very happy birthday to Momo. May she have many more happy ones to come," Nanao said raising her glass.

"Here, here."

Momo took a sip of her drink.

"What do you think?" Shunsui asked.

"It's good. Really good, thank you. It was a good choice," Momo said.

"I'm sorry it took me so long. My brother-in-law is incompetent when it comes to planning surprise parties," Sousuke said returning to the join the group.

"How is that going?" Shunsui asked.

"I can't really say for certain at this point. Hopefully he can take care of the rest on his own. And why that man has to call me at the most inconvenient times, I do not know. If it weren't for the fact that Masaki's birthday is less than a week away I wouldn't have bothered answering my phone when I saw his number on my caller ID," Sousuke said apologetically.

"No worries, Sousuke. Family is important after all. Do you know whether or not your parents are going to be there?" Shunsui asked.

"It's hard to say. They can be quite difficult at times and they're not very happy with my sister for marrying that man," Sousuke replied.

"Well, love is blind and parents can't choose who their children fall in love with. Besides, Isshin is a good man and he makes your sister happy. Your parents should be happy about that. They should also be happy that he's a doctor and he has given them those three grandchildren that they have," Shunsui pointed out.

"Indeed," Sousuke replied before turning to Nemu. "Bartender, I'll have a whiskey on the rocks, make it a double," Sousuke said.

"That bad, huh?" Shunsui asked.

"I would rather not get into it at the moment. I already have a big enough headache from that conversation alone. I would rather enjoy the rest of the evening as much as possible," Sousuke said.

"Fair enough," Shunsui answered.

"Here's your drink, sir," Nemu said.

"Thank you, Nemu. Keep the change," Sousuke said handing her a twenty.

"Thank you, sir," Nemu replied.

"Now that Byakuya's here I think it's time for dinner," Sousuke said.

The group was taken to their table. Going clockwise the group sat Momo, Nanao, Shunsui, Juushiro, Byakuya and Sousuke. The men talked business. Discussing plans for a new hotel in Hawaii.

Momo was mostly quiet until Nanao started engaging her in conversation.

"I remember you saying earlier that you went to college," Nanao said casually.

"Yes, I did," Momo answered politely.

"What did you major in?" Nanao asked.

"Art. I don't mean to brag but my professors said I had a talent for it. I really enjoyed it. I wanted to be an artist. Unfortunately there are so few who make a decent enough wage from their work and my brother and I have bills to pay, so being a starving artist isn't the life I really want. I'm having enough trouble with bills as it is and I don't imagine things getting better anytime soon so I'll have to put some of my dreams on hold for awhile," Momo explained.

"Well, you never know. If you put your work out there maybe you'll get discovered and then you can start working as an artist for a living," Nanao suggested.

"I would like that. However, I would still have to work at other jobs to make enough to cover living expenses and it's not easy working at multiple jobs without working as an artist," Momo pointed out.

"That is true. Then again, you never know, you might be able to work on commission someday. At least for awhile until you're discovered," Nanao suggested.

"I would have to find someone who would want to commission me to do a piece for them. I don't know many people who could afford to hire me to do the type of work that could keep me and my brother from ending-up starving and on the streets," Momo said.

"What about that friend of your's? Didn't you say that he had offered to help you out financially?" Nanao asked.

"Well yes, but I couldn't ask him for that kind of favor. I don't want to risk our friendship if I can't pay him back," Momo explained.

"That's noble of you. Maybe you could ask him to recommend you to someone looking to hire an artist," Nanao suggested.

"I thought about that once or twice but it felt wrong," Momo explained.

"Why would it feel wrong?" Nanao asked.

"Because it would still feel like I was using him. Like I was taking advantage of him and his connections in order to make money," Momo explained.

"I suppose you have a point. I also can't help but think that you may be over thinking it a bit," Nanao said.

"Maybe, but when you grow-up in foster care and at the same time have friends with money, you become very aware of just how little you have. Especially when their parents are old money snobs who look down on people from the lower classes," Momo explained.

"That must be tough. It's hard enough getting the approval of the parents of friends who are from social rank as yourself. I can only imagine how much more difficult it would be to get your friends parents to approve of you if they think you're only after their money. It's a shame since you seem like a very nice person and from the sound of it you work really hard to make a living for yourself," Nanao said sympathetically.

"I really do try. I just hope they never find out about this. It would only make this even more humiliating it already is," Momo said.

"Considering all the horrible things that Mr. Kuchiki said to you that's certainly saying something," Nanao said taking a sip of her wine.

"It really is," Momo agreed sipping her drink.


Well, Upper-Eastsiders and all my other loyal readers, so far no one has managed to get a picture of little Cinderella's face. A few of them have tried and failed. It would seem as though luck is on her side tonight. Then again, the night is still young and then there is tomorrow morning. Don't you four gentlemen have some business breakfast in the morning? If history is anything to go by, Sousuke Aizen will certainly be getting more use of little Cinderella's services. Hope you're up to it, Cinderella. Sousuke Aizen has quite an appetite and I don't mean an appetite for food. The man has to stay in shape if he's going to continue to attract the attention of all those single ladies. Even some of the ladies who would only love to snag a man with his bank account have standards. And after all of his awkward teenage years he probably wants to have more than money working in his favor when it comes to getting a woman he wants. And since he's already had you once this evening he probably wants you again. Especially if he's going to pay a pretty penny for your new clothes. Better eat well tonight and not just because you look like you haven't eaten in awhile. Rumor has it that he isn't one for a casual quickly. From what we hear he likes to take his time. Hope you'll have enough energy to satisfy him after dinner. Don't worry though, we hear that he can be quite the gentleman. Maybe he can wait until morning if you're too tired after dinner. But if he does you'll have to get up really early tomorrow morning. Like we said, he likes to take his time and enjoy himself. Hope you live-up to his expectations, Cinderella and then some. Otherwise you might not be eating this well again. Of course, if he really likes your work he just might want to retain your services. That could be a real rags-to-riches for you. Maybe even the closest you'll ever get to an actual Cinderella story.

Of course, that will give us even more chances to find out your true identity!

Better hope that no evil stepmother or stepsisters find out.

That could only cause trouble for you!

In the meantime, what are you and Nanao talking about so seriously.

Hmm...are you growing soft on us, Nanao?

I don't think you've ever been this chummy with an escort before.

Are you feeling sorry for her?

That would be a first.

What makes this little lady of the evening different from the others?

Only time will tell.

Don't worry loyal readers, I'll let you know when I learn more.

You know you love me,
XOXO
Gossip Girl