“You handed me your business card during your little . . . show.”
Right, I did.
“Oh, right. So,” I encourage, “how’d it go?”
“Did I get fucked last night, you mean?”
“Well of course that’s what I mean,” I say, rolling my eyes. “I wasn’t interested in hearing about you two talking all night and her leaving with a soft kiss to the head.”
He snorts. “It went fine. She was a good lay.”
“Ugh, such a pig thing to say.”
He chuckles.
Oh, wow. That sound.
“I never claimed to be anything but.”
“You make a valid point. So, why are you calling me? Oh, I know. You’re calling to say thank you. No problem, Reign, it was my pleasure.”
He grunts. “Do you always talk so much? It’s giving me a headache.”
“You rang me, buddy,” I point out.
“I rang you because I was impressed with what you did last night and it got me thinking about things. I decided I would like to offer you a job.”
“I was kidding about being a whore,” I say quickly.
“I’m not offering you sex, Tiani.”
“Tia,” I say. “And what are you offering? I run a business. I don’t really need a job.”
“You’re an accountant, and your boss allows you to do all your work from home. You don’t run a business, and this won’t stop you from working.”
“How did you know that?” I mutter. “Are you a stalker, Reign?”
“It isn’t hard to find out. Now that’s beside the point. I have a proposition for you.”
“Does it involve sex?” I question.
He sighs. “Shut up, and I’ll tell you.”
“Fine.”
“I’m offering to pay you to . . . well . . . basically, pick up for me. That, amongst other things.”
“You want me to be your . . . wingman?”
He’s silent for a minute. “I wouldn’t have put it so bluntly.”
“Well,” I laugh, “how would you put it?”
He sighs. “It wouldn’t just be getting women for me, it would also be accompanying me to charities, dinners, and other such formidable events. I don’t like going, but I go because Selena is there.”
“Selena is . . .”
“My ex.”
“Ohhhh,” I drag out. “I get it. You want me to make your ex jealous.”
“I’m not asking you to pretend to be my girlfriend. I’m simply asking you to accompany me.”
“And to get your dick wet on every other day.”
Another snort. “Something like that.”
“You know what my next question will be,” I say, crossing my legs. “Why the hell does someone who looks like you, need someone like me to pick up for you?”
He grunts. “I don’t like to talk, I don’t like to be charming. I’m not a man that can walk into a bar and melt the panties off someone with conversation. I fuck, it’s that simple. You got me an easy lay last night, I didn’t have to think and I certainly didn’t have to charm. I want it to be that easy again.”
“Interesting. Next question. If you’re so keen on getting your ex back, tell me why you’re fucking around?”
He makes a grumbling sound and mutters, “I’m a man. I’m single. It’s not like I’m cheating so I don’t see why it matters. I like to fuck, I have somewhat of an appetite.”
“Are you sure it was your ex that screwed your P.A and not you, with that appetite of yours?”
He growls. “Yes.”
“All right, don’t blow a load. I was only asking. Final question,” I take a deep breath. “Won’t she be, like, super pissed when she finds out you’re sleeping around?”
“She fucked around behind my back and as I said, I’m single for now. It’s not her business. When we work it out, I won’t be doing it anymore.”
“Why do you want her back, if she cheated on you?”
“Clearly you’ve never been in love.”
I snort. “Love is for wimps.”
“Are you finished now?” he sighs.
“Last question, how much?” I say, crossing my legs and leaning back.
“Five thousand a month.”
That has me jerking upright. “Repeat yourself.”
“Five thousand a month. For that amount, you will come whenever I need you—I will take into consideration that you have your own job too. The rest of the time you need to make yourself available. I will purchase any dresses, shoes and accessories you need for events. I will also drive you to and from locations, as well as providing you food and other such luxuries while you are in my presence. On the days I don’t need you and you’re not working, I have a heap of paperwork for the bars that I could use your skills to help with. You know how to do that?”
I huff. “Of course I know how to do that.”
“So, five thousand a month, what do you say?”
My body is screaming yes, yes, yes, but calmly I say, “And how long will this little arrangement last?”
“Until she comes back to me, and when she does, if I like your work, I’m more than happy to keep you doing my books.”
Oh dear.
“And if she doesn’t come back to you . . .”
“She will,” he says, his voice hard.