Page 10 of Royal Bosshole

“Was there an elevator involved in all of this?” April asked, and I groaned.

Anyone who had ever read or seen 50 Shades of Grey knew what elevators did to sexual tension.

“Yes, maybe,” I said. “But you're not even listening.”

“Oh, I'm listening, baby. To subtext. So, how was the elevator ride? Does he smell nice?”

God, he'd smelled heavenly. As in, I could have come from his scent alone.

Just shut up, Lily.

“Yes, but is that all that surprising?” I asked. “It was perfectly regular cologne. You know, that kind that smells like the sea after a storm, and it doesn’t matter.”

I could feel myself flushing as April stared at me with a big smile.

I will not say anything about the sex dream. I will not say anything about the sex dream.

“That sounds pretty damn good,” April said. “All right. Now you can tell me the details of the job. Are you happy you're taking it?”

I was so relieved we were off that subject. “Yeah, I am. I signed the papers today. I kind of found out what I'm supposed to do, and I asked for an advance on my salary.”

“Good for you, girl.” April pulled out an envelope from her pocket and put it on the bar. “Does that mean you don't want this?” she asked.

“No.” I sighed with resignation. “I still want it. Thanks, April. The advance was so that I could help give Jen a little bit more money since she's going to run the place while I'm working. And so, I can get things in order, you know?”

I took the envelope, and I shook it in the air. “You know I'm writing these all down, right? That I'm going to pay you back?”

“Yes, yes. But seriously, you don't need to. Now that I'm a big, fancy marketing lady at ESPN, I'm making more money than I know what to do with. This makes me happy. I know, I’ve been helping you with rent, but you know I can give you a bit more if you need it, right?” She grinned.

“I feel bad taking this as it is, but I really need it and I really appreciate it. Besides, I feel just a little less bad now because you have a billionaire fiancé.”

“God, he's not giving me money!” she cried, looking wide-eyed. “I hope you don't think that.”

“No, but you're going to be married. It'll be your money together. But anyway, it doesn't matter. Thank you. Thanks to you, this month’s rent is covered and it’s one less thing to worry about. Again.” I sighed. “And who knows, maybe I won’t need your help in a month or two. And maybe I can even pay you some of it back. That’s the goal.” It was hard taking money from my friend, but she had caught me sobbing one day alone at the apartment and I couldn’t hide my money problems from her anymore. She offered to help me by lending me the money for as long as I needed. She was an angel in disguise. I wanted to say no. Tried even. But not very assertively, because I knew I desperately needed it.

However, I couldnotlet Stevie even dream that I was struggling to eat or pay the rent, otherwise, she’d force me to take her money and not let me pay her back. And I just couldn’t be a charity case. I refused.

April got that. She knew I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.

“So, how's this little guy in here?” I asked, putting a hand on her stomach.

“All good. Finally, the sickness has calmed down. I can sleep a bit better.”

“Good, I’m glad. And how’s Caleb doing?”

Caleb was her super-hot billionaire boss. She’d been his personal assistant for years until things had started to heat up a few months ago. She’d started it all by asking him to play her fake fiancé at her cousin’s wedding. Pretty hilarious stuff.

April beamed and smiled. I knew how in love she was. After all the shit she had gone through with her shit family, she deserved it.

“Yeah, he’s good,” she said. “Really, really good. Just getting a little intense about the baby, you know, like already buying little jerseys and stuff like that.”

“That’s so cute!” I cried.

I was not really the kids type, but just hearing about how much Caleb loved her, and was happy about their life together, made a little bit of old jealousy creep in. My life felt like a shambles. And it was hard to listen to stories of how other people somehow got it together. I wished I could be like that.

Before I could stop it, James's face came into my mind, and I gasped.

“What's up?” April asked, and I hurriedly gulped down a big swallow of kombucha, glad when the fizziness made me cough again.

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