Page 279 of The Billionaires

I’m still fuming that he said no.

Does he not understand that asking him was the bravest moment of my life?

Then again, maybe I shouldn’t have asked him.

It does carry a risk of messing up things between us.

Hell, we haven’t even done anything, and things are tense.

As I walk, I feel enough embarrassment to kill a blobfish. Relatedly, I also feel like a blobfish, or an anglerfish—or something else that lives in the darkest depths of the ocean, and therefore can look as hideous as she wants.

My phone rings.

He’s persistent, isn’t he?

I reach to send the call to voicemail when I see that it’s my mom who is calling.

Hesitating for a moment, I pick up.

“Hello,” I say.

“What happened?” Mom asks, sounding worried.

Damn, she’s good. “What do you mean?”

“You sound upset,” she says.

“Do I?” I ask, forcing joviality into my voice.

“Yes,” Mom says. “Like that time when that idiot never picked you up for prom.”

Fine. She’s been filling the role of my best friend for many years now, so I tell her what happened, even if I feel more embarrassed in the process.

“That’s a conundrum,” Mom says when I finish.

“A conundrum?”

She sighs. “Many ways of looking at the thing is what I mean.”

“Like?”

“For starters, it’s not cool to be so mean to someone for not wanting to have sex with you. When men do it to me, I hate it.”

“I didn’t just ask him to have sex,” I say, offended. “Also, how am I being mean?”

“You’re refusing his calls,” she says. “And since you’re instrumental in his plans for his daughter, he’s probably worried sick.”

Shit. I hate it when Mom has a good point.

“I’ll text him back right after this,” I say. “And you’d better have other ways of looking at this so-called conundrum.”

“The part where he said he doesn’t feel worthy,” she says. “That’s something that only someone who is worthy would say… before he’s sure about his feelings for you.”

I get another text from Adrian, which adds to the guilt Mom has kindled in me.

“That last bit makes no sense,” I tell Mom. “But I’d better go.”

“Don’t forget about the money that’s on the line,” Mom shouts before I can hang up.

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