I scratched the back of my neck. “About what?”
“Not getting her hopes up about the billionaire with the box seats,” James said.
“Huh,” I said as I watched them retreat.
Was Jenny getting her hopes up?
And if she was…was that really the worst thing?
JENNY
“I just went pee,”I complained to Audrey. “I don’t really need to go again.”
“Fine. I just want to talk to you for a minute.” Audrey steered me past the ladies’ room down the hall to the empty coat check.
She looked around carefully, making sure that no one was nearby or could see us. “Jenny,” she said gently. “Cole hired you through AccommoDating, right?”
“Of course,” I said.
“He seems like a nice guy.”
“He’sawesome, Dre! We’ve been having so much fun.” I grinned and grabbed her hands. “Thank you for doing this for me. Elena’s so happy that James sent her a referral. I told her I was going to rock Cole’s world and make him a regular.”
“Okay,” she said. “I just want to make sure, though…” Audrey bit her lip.
“What?”
“That you don’t think he’s going to buy you, or anything,” she said miserably. “The way you were looking at him out there?—”
“Aw, Dre, c’mon,” I said, laughing. “This isn’t my first date. You don’t think I have an actualcrushon Cole Bryson, do you?”
Audrey looked confused. “Don’t you?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I like hiswallet. I like his thick cock. I like his box seats. I like batting him around like a cat toy.”
“You don’t likehim?”
“Oh yeah—I like him, all right. Who the fuck wouldn’t? He’s wicked hot, and he’s a billionaire! But he’s aJohn, Dre. He’s paying for me to do whatever he wants. And he wants to do lots of things, let me tell you. He’s nasty, and I like it.
“But just because I’m enjoying myself doesn’t make it any less of a job,” I said. “Or any more than a job. I mean—oh, you know what I mean.” Talking to Audrey made it crystal clear: Cole Bryson was a job—one that I enjoyed—but nothing more.
Audrey nodded at me. “I know exactly what you mean.”
“Enough about me. I can take care of myself.” I looked at Audrey. “How’s it going with Mr. Sex in a Suit?”
“Great,” she said, but it sounded like a lie.
“Hedidfuck you, right? I saw you two out there.”
“He fucked me,” she said, sounding miserable. “We fucked.”
“Was it that bad?” She looked so upset I squeezed her hand. “Dre, are you going to cry or something?”
“No,” she said, but her eyes were totally filling with tears. She blotted them carefully. “Jenny, I can’t cry. His whole family is out there. And they can’t know how we know each other, either.”
“Okay,” I said, my professional training kicking in. “We can handle that. I’ve had to lie to so many wives and girlfriends that the lies just spring out, Dre. And they’re usually pretty good. Don’t worry about that part. But wedoneed to worry about those tears. Tell me what’s going on.”
Audrey shook her head. “I can’t. I can’t talk about it.”