Page 24 of Confused AF
Three months later…
“What the hell is this?”
I looked up from my book when Otto flopped down on the sofa beside me and shoved his phone under my nose. “It looks like a bank statement.”
“Ha, ha, very funny,” he snarked back. “Why do I have a refund for the exact amount I paid you to be my assistant in Las Vegas?”
“Coincidence,” I answered, shrugging.
“Vaden!”
Sighing, I marked my page and closed the book, setting it on the coffee table so I could give him my full attention. “Yes, I refunded the money. What’s the problem?”
“I hired you for a job. We had a contract.”
“I’m aware.” The contract had been the whole reason it had taken so long to return the money to him. “I still don’t see the problem, though.”
“You can’t just give it back.”
“Why not?”
His brow creased, and the vein in his neck throbbed. “Because I said so!”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re cute when you’re mad.”
He huffed out an irritated breath and flopped back against the cushions. “You worked really hard at the expo, and that was a whole week you couldn’t contract other jobs.”
“Otto, love, I didn’t agree to move in with you because I’m broke.”
“I know,” he said, his voice quieter now, less frazzled. “That’s not what I meant. It just doesn’t seem fair.”
And he needed things to be fair. “Are you going to pay me for going with you next year?”
“Pretty bold of you to assume I’ll be accepted back.”
Oh, I had no doubt he would be returning to the Spellbound Expo.
The last day of the convention had been nothing short of chaotic, but in the best way possible. It seemed like everyone in attendance had found their way to his table at some point to offer their support.
His tutorials had drawn massive audiences, and his consultations had been warm and friendly. So much so, it had been difficult to keep him on schedule.
A couple of the big corporate brands had donated entire boxes of cosmetics to replace what Kassidy had destroyed. I’d had toturn away at least a dozen influencers who wanted interviews with him, some more forcefully than others.
While the drama had been stressful for him at the time, a lot of positive things had come from the debacle.
For starters, Otto’s social media accounts had exploded almost overnight, growing from a few thousand to nearly a million collectively in just a couple of weeks. Once his story about Kassidy stealing his cosmetic line had come out—thanks to Chloe Rae—his inbox had been flooded with emails from magical creators wanting to work with him.
He still had reservations about sharing his ideas with strangers, and I couldn’t blame him, but he seemed to be coming around to the idea.
As for Kassidy Bassiago, she had more or less faded into obscurity. Her social media accounts had been privated. Sponsors refused to work with her. Stores had pulled her products from their shelves, and rumor had it she had been blacklisted from the Spellbound Expo.
Permanently.
“You won’t just be accepted back,” I told him. “You’ll be invited. I wouldn’t be surprised if they ask you to host a panel.”
“You’re crazy.” He rolled toward me, climbing into my lap to straddle my thighs. “But I love how much you believe in me.”
Settling my hands on his hips, I sent him a crooked grin. “Does this mean I’m getting paid next year?”
