I smirk, stretching back in my chair.
 
 Me: There’s not much to say.
 
 Unknown Number: Bullshit. What do you do? Besides dodging the IRS, obviously.
 
 Me: I run a business.
 
 Unknown Number: Ooooh, vague. Suspicious. Very “I have bodies buried in my backyard” energy.
 
 I huff out a low chuckle, shaking my head.
 
 Me: No bodies. Yet.
 
 Unknown Number: Oh, so you’re a CEO? A big, intimidating boss man?
 
 Me: Something like that.
 
 Unknown Number: I knew it. I can hear the overpriced suit through your texts.
 
 I glance down at my very much overpriced Tom Ford jacket.
 
 She’s not wrong.
 
 Me: And what exactly does an overpriced suit sound like?
 
 Unknown Number: Like a man who doesn’t wait in line for coffee. Who probably owns more watches than pairs of jeans. And who could single-handedly fund my escape from capitalism but chooses not to.
 
 I smirk.
 
 Me: Tragic for you.
 
 Unknown Number: Truly. If only you were a man of the people.
 
 I should cut this off. I should let her wonder instead of feeding her curiosity. But something about her texts—the ease, the sharp humor, the ridiculousness of it all—keeps me playing along.
 
 Me: If it helps, I started at the bottom once.
 
 Unknown Number: Oh? Did you suffer in the trenches of entry-level hell like the rest of us?
 
 Me: Something like that.
 
 I don’t tell her how far back my “bottom” really was. That my first job wasn’t behind a desk, but learning how to make a man disappear without leaving a trail.
 
 Some things are better left unsaid.
 
 Unknown Number: So, what kind of boss are you? Power-tripping tyrant or the mysterious, brooding, impossible to read type?
 
 I smirk.
 
 Me: What do you think?
 
 Unknown Number: Oh, definitely brooding. Probably terrifying. I bet when you call someone to your office, they have to do a prayer circle before knocking.
 
 I pause, exhaling a quiet laugh.
 
 She’s not entirely wrong.
 
 Me: I expect competence. That tends to intimidate people.