Page 33 of Adonis: The Cost of a Billionaire's Heart
“Why not?”
“Because saying it makes it real.”
“How do you think you’ll ever be able to do it if you’re too afraid even to say it out loud?”
I huffed. He had a point. He usually always did. “Fine. But keep all your fu-fu pretty, rich boy comments to yourself, okay?”
“You think I’m pretty?” he joked with a smirk.
I rolled my eyes. “Shut up before I change my mind about telling you.”
“C’mon, Sim. Tell me. I’m listening.”
“I think I’d want to go back to school for my master’s. I’ve looked into a few schools but never took the leap to apply or get my old transcripts.”
“Why not?”
“I just don’t know how I’d balance school and work plus Mason. He’ll be starting kindergarten next year. There’s just somuch I have to consider that school always seems like a hill I don’t have the strength to climb right now.”
“What are you so afraid of, Sim?”
“Falling. Failing. Fucking shit up. Isn’t that obvious? I’m barely getting by with everything on my plate right now. I love Mason with every breath in my body, and I thank God every day for him, but motherhood is a thankless fucking job, and I am fucking tired,” I admitted, probably for the first time out loud.
“You won’t have to worry about his medical bills for a year,” he pointed out. “And I meant what I said about the reference letter, résumé help, introductions, and putting Maya on retainer for six months.”
“Even though I didn’t hold up my end of the deal by giving you three career fields?”
“Oh, I haven’t forgotten about that.”
I smirked. “I knew you wouldn’t,” I said before taking another sip of champagne and feeling the warmth spread through me. “Well, I’m a professional chaos coordinator when it comes to Mason. Maybe I could be a personal assistant, or a virtual assistant would work even better.”
“That’s one.”
“Of course, there’s always accounting, since I have the degree to fall back on.”
“That’s two.”
“And I don’t know, maybe real estate?”
“Why real estate?”
My shoulders rose and fell. “I don’t know. One of the moms at Mason’s day care does real estate and mentioned it to me once. It seems pretty flexible, and the pay is good.”
“Now, was that so hard?”
I playfully rolled my eyes before shaking my head. “No. I’m grateful, Adonis. Truly. I’ve never met anyone like you before. I think you really might be from a different planet.”
He studied me for a moment, his cognac brown orbs thoughtful. “Alien or not, you could leverage this experience, you know. Being associated with me, even temporarily, opens doors.”
“You think I should drum up business on the heels of our fake relationship?” I challenged, surprised.
“I think you should use every advantage available to you,” he replied. “Even if it’s me. That’s not exploitation; it’s strategy.”
It was such an Adonis way of looking at things—realistic, slightly ruthless, but not entirely immoral. Over the past week, I’d come to understand him a little better. Behind the cold, controlled exterior was a man who saw the world as a series of calculations and opportunities. Not heartless, exactly, but guarded in a way that made me understand what made him that way.
“Maybe,” I conceded. “First, I need to get through tomorrow without messing up this deal for you.”
“You won’t,” he answered with surprising confidence. “You’ve been flawless all week.”
