Page 46 of Glass Wings
Hector stood in her door frame, shifting uncomfortably, trying to form what to say.
“Well, you say no, right? If you hate it, we go and stick to the plan. We get jobs and work together to support each other.”
“Right.” Hadley nodded. “You are right. Thanks, Hector. I needed someone to tell me it was okay to say no.” She began texting a message to Grant before putting her phone away in her back pocket.
Hector climbed into the bed with Hadley, laying his head on her stomach.
“In return, it sounds like you have a lot of stories that you have to be honest with me about now. You’re a ho! I want to hear all the nasty things you’ve been doing.”
Hadley grinned, slapping her hands to her face to hide, and began going into every raunchy detail, leaving out the experience she had with the pirate. The stress of the encounter was still sitting heavily in her chest.
Vibrations hit Hadley’s backside, and she pulled her phone out of her pocket. The screen flashed the wordunknownso she warily flipped it open before putting it up to her ear, waiting.
“Hailey?” a man’s voice asked over the line. Hector raised his eyebrows at her, and she shrugged back in response.
“Yes,” she said back into the phone.
“This is Sheng. You came to my party. I fed you a sandwich.”
“Of course, Sheng, hello. How did you get my number?” she asked.
“I have a friend in tech,” he replied. “Listen, I was told that youwere not available today, but I thought maybe I could make it worthwhile to change your plans.”
“I’m . . . still recovering from the party last night.”
“I can’t hear,” Hector muttered, circling his hands by his ears, making Hadley grin and hit the speakerphone button on her screen. Sheng’s deep voice filled her little room.
“I want you to come over for dinner. Imagine the chaos we could get into, having my chef whip up anything you’d like to put in that mouth.”
Hector’s eyes went wide, and Hadley put her hand up to her mouth to muffle the schoolgirl giggles.
“I realized that once you were gone, I never should have let you leave. You’re like my own Cinderella. I’ll pay your fee, of course, with a good tip. Let’s say eight hundred dollars an hour. I’ll send you back out the door by nightfall.”
“Mute!” Hector mouthed, his hands waving around frantically.
“Sheng, can you hold on a moment, please?” she asked, hitting the mute button on her phone. “I’m turning him down, right? We are looking for jobs?”
“Hadley, are you kidding me right now? Eight hundred dollars an hour to have dinner with someone who speaks as sexy as this man? This, this thing you're doing here, how can you say no?”
“Hello? Hailey, are you still there?” Sheng’s voice came in through the phone.
“I’m sorry, please ignore me. I was just really surprised to hear numbers like that. You’re right, let’s stick to the plan,” Hector said, the look in his stormy blue eyes completely sure.
“I’m here, sorry, Sheng,” Hadley said, unmuting the call. “I will be there in an hour.”
Hadley knew Hector was right, she had never been paid anywhere close to what Sheng was offering to her. That money could be life changing. That money could be what she actually needed to stop. She could focus on writing, get that seasonal job for basic needs and have a real safety net for the both of them. It was silly, it was selfish, to push that away.
Hector flung his hands into the air before covering his eyes and shaking his head as Hadley hung up the phone.
“Has anyone ever told you how confusing you are?” Hector asked.
“Grant drives me to the client. He sits outside to make sure I’m protected. I think I need to call him.”
“No, stop. I’ve got it. I can drive you,” Hector said. “Now, what are you going to wear? It cannot be jeans and a t-shirt.”
“I've quit and un-quit in about twenty minutes. I think I’m going to wear exactly this.”
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