Page 15 of Don't Quit the Day Job

"What? No way! You're not going to be a stripper. Lila, I'm not going to let you be a stripper. I will make you take money from me and Jackson."

"No, she doesn’t strip. We’d just dance around. It's nothing sordid, I promise." I cross my fingers behind my back because in all actuality I have no idea exactly what will occur, but I'm willing to try it at least once.

"How do you know it's not sordid? You've never even done it." Zara is too smart for her own good.

"Because I trust Skye and she said it's not dirty like that and you trust me and my intuition, right?"

"Yeah. What's trust got to do with anything though?"

"If I get to one of the parties and they're expecting me to give a naked lap dance, I will leave."

"But why do you even need to do this other job if you're working at a law firm now? I'm so confused."

"I'm working at the law firm because I need money and it pays well, but I don't really think I'm going to like the job because Max, my new boss, is really annoying. Even though he's good looking, he's really condescending and he already drives me up the wall."

"But you just met him."

"I know, but again, I don't know why he hired me. I think he thinks I'm crazy. But I really don't think he wants me for sex because I don't think he needs any woman for sex because he can get any woman wants."

"He’s that good looking, huh?"

"He's gorgeous," I say, sighing. "Even better looking than Jackson or Ethan."

"Really?" She shakes her head in disbelief. "You think he's better looking than my very-good-looking fiancé?” She leans forward and raises her eyebrows while studying my face. I can tell that she’s trying to figure out if I’m joking or not.

"I mean, yes, but that's why he's your fiancé and not mine."

"Touché," she says. "So you have no idea why he hired you?"

"I don't know why. Maybe he felt sorry for me, or maybe he's attracted to me a little, or maybe he really does want a dominant-submissive relationship with me and he's just not admitting it."

"Girl, you need to stop reading those romance books." Zara bursts out laughing. "Your mind is in the gutter."

"It's not my fault! It's TikTok. At least I'm not obsessing over a stalker or a serial killer that wants to make me his next victim/lover."

"Girl, I never understood why people would actually want a stalker. Like, what about this is romantic? Oh, is that you hiding behind my house and sneaking into my bathroom to watch me shower and killing every delivery man that comes to bring me food? No, I don't think that's weird. Thank you for loving me so much."

"Zara," I giggle. "You're awful."

"I just think standards for men have really gone downhill if that's what women want."

"It's not that we want that, we just don't want these fuckboys that seem to be occupying the dating pool these days."

"Not every sane man is a fuckboy, Lila."

"You're only saying that because you have the world's best boyfriend. Single women like me, we want an adventure. We want a fantasy. We want someone to grab us and pull us to the side of the room and run their fingers down our bodies and kiss our necks, and—" I pause as I realize that there's an old man walking next to me who is obviously listening to my conversation.

He winks and flicks something off of his top lip before saying, "I'll kiss you all over, Kiki."

I blush and shake my head before quickening my step. "Anyway, maybe I shouldn't be having this conversation as I'm walking down the street."

"Why are you walking down the street if you just got a new job?" Zara's back to sounding confused.

"Because my boss wants me to get him a bagel and a coffee."

"What?"

"He says it's part of the job." I wrinkle my nose. "He was kinda rude, if I'm honest, but then again I was going on a bit about my audition and then accusing him of wanting me to sign an NDA and have his wicked way with me." I pause. "I'm kind of a hot mess, right now, Zara. What am I doing with my life?" I wail. All of a sudden I feel like my life is spiraling out of control. "What am I doing? Is this all a big mistake?" I bite down on my lip and stop next to a light pole and lean against it. My breath is coming quickly and I realize that I'm having a mini anxiety attack. Everything in my life has been changing so quickly and I feel like I'm completely in over my head. I'm not used to so much change so quickly.

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