Page 91 of Mid-Thirties Slightly Hot Mess Female Seeking Billionaire

"Really?" I chuckle and he nods.

"I've never seen you look at a girl like that before and I've never seen one respond to you quite like that either."

"What? So you think you knew?"

"Oh, I 100% knew." He laughs. "And by the way?"

"Yeah?"

"She never posted that personal ad."

"What do you mean she never posted it?" I frown. "What are you talking about?"

"All the posts for the company intranet, they go through me." He laughs. "Nothing goes public on our company site without my approval. Are you crazy? We'd have people complaining all the time."

"So wait, what?" I gawk at him. "So you actually saw what she'd submitted or sent by mistake before it went live?"

"Yeah," he laughs. "Perhaps."

"Why did you make that thing go live? What the hell were you thinking?"

"I needed a way for you to become more invested in the situation. I know you, Ethan. You would have taken years to make a move. I just pushed it along."

"Oh my gosh, this is absolutely crazy. I don't believe it."

"I think she sounds like a special girl," my mom says. "Someone I'd like to meet."

"She's got me on block, so I don't know how likely that's going to be."

"I think if she's the girl for you, it'll work out," my mom says and stands up. "Anyway, I need to go shopping. I've got a lot to get done before I head out."

"When are you going?" I say, feeling slightly sad. This is the first time my mom and I have really opened up to each other since I was a little kid and I'm kind of sad to see that she's going.

"Not until you work it out with your young lady," she says. "I want to meet her. I want to make sure I'm leaving you in good hands."

"Wait, what? I thought you were going sometime soon."

"I have a feeling it will be soon," she smiles. "But if it's not, I can wait. I've been patient this long."

"Mom, you cannot wait on me, on my love life. I..."

"I want to be there for you, Ethan. You've been here for me my entire life and I love you for it. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, son."

"Thanks mom. I love you."

"Now I'm going to go shopping."

"Is that your way of telling me to expect some large credit card bills at the end of the month?" I laugh.

"No," she shakes her head. "Those are only for emergencies now."

"What?" I say in surprise.

"I've got a little bit of money that I've been saving through the years, my emergency fund, and I'm going to use that. I need to stop relying on you for everything."

"Mom, it's okay. I am..."

"No, son. I want to see if I can get by myself. I'm fed up of having to depend on people. I want to see if I can traverse the world alone."

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