Page 82 of Mr. Big Shot

“Won’t you be tired?”

“Scarlett.” God, I love his no-nonsense tone. “Call me when you get home.”

Jordy hears this and, loudly enough for him to hear, responds, “Okay, daddy.”

The girls around the table burst out laughing, but Hudson doesn’t. I can’t even begin to imagine what he’s thinking right now. We haven’t had a full-fledged conversation since we spoke in his office and now I’m drunk-dialing him from Miami?!

“I’ll let you go,” I say timidly.

“Love you!” Jordy quips.

“Bye! Love you!”

“Bye, daddy!”

I hang up before the girls can say anything else.

“Dude, he sounded HOT,” Jordy says, fanning her face.

“He is, isn’t he?” Hannah asks.

I just nod, helpless.

We do end up at a quintessential Miami club, and it’s filled with the most beautiful women I have ever seen. They should be making us take out the trash or clean the urinals or something—we do not belong here. Even still, Jordy somehow gets us into the VIP section where she’s chatting up a legitimate NBA basketball player! He’s so tall she has to shout her questions up at him.

I’m so excited about the scene until I’m not. I hit a brick wall somewhere between the 28th and 29th Calvin Harris EDM remix blasting straight into my ear canals, and I’m dead tired, about to fall asleep on the couch when a cute guy approaches me.

Okay! He’s scruffy and blond and looks very well dressed. I should recognize him maybe. Was he on Summer House?

I barely get his name. I think it’s Jared or Jerry. I’m about to ask him to repeat it when Hudson calls me. I’ve been clutching my phone on the off chance he called, which felt stupid right up until he actually does.

I answer straight away, right in the middle of this new man asking me a question. “Hi.”

“Are you home yet?”

“No, are you?”

He laughs. “Where are you guys now?”

“I’m in a loud club and I’m talking to some guy and I don’t know his name. What’s your name?”

Again, I can’t tell if it’s Jared or Jerry. He really needs to enunciate.

“Hand him the phone,” Hudson demands.

“The guy?”

“Yes.”

I do as he says, watching on as Hudson talks to Jar/Jer. The guy’s blond eyebrows shoot up in surprise and then they clamp down in anger before he hands the phone back to me and stands up to walk away without another word.

“Okay…bye?” I hold the phone back to my ear. “What’d you say to him? He looked annoyed.”

“Doesn’t matter. Stay with the group.”

“The group is kind of spread out…”

I look over to see Jordy making out with the basketball player. She has to stand on the couch just to reach his face, but they seem to be just fine with the arrangement.

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