Page 2 of Bonking the Billionaire

“Please tell me you’re Morgan,” he said.

I lifted my chin, squared my shoulders, and spread my feet apart—a power stance for a powerful, not-at-all vulnerable woman. I snapped a picture of him with my phone, then put my hands on my furry hips, taking up as much space as possible. “I’m Morgan. And now I have your face in case you try anything inappropriate.”

“...Okay?” His brows furrowed in confusion. “What’s with the get-up? You a performer or something?”

Now it was my turn to be confused. “You booked a costumed gig,” I said. “So I showed up in the costume you’re paying for.”

At least, he better pony up and not cancel payment.

I sucked in a deep breath. This wasn’t going great, but it could be worse. At least he hadn’t tried to touch me.

“Bunny or not, doesn’t matter,” he said. “Lil M’ll be done soon. You take her then, okay?”

So this wasn’t a trap. Relief loosened the tight knot in the back of my neck.

“Yep, I’ll take good care of her,” I said. “You can count on me.”

SpankKing grinned—a weirdly devilish grin. Then he bolted.

Why not ask me a few questions before disappearing? Why not make sure his kid and I safely found each other? Maybe he had hot plans, some raunchy entanglement, that he cared more about than his child’s safety. I already felt sorry for M and we hadn’t even met.

Whatever SpankKing’s reasons were for dashing, at least our interaction was over.

The ride slowed, the brakes grinding audibly, and the tentacles lowered to the ground as the octopus came to a halt. Soon after, people began shuffling out. I watched for a child exiting by herself. A bead of sweat trickled down my spine. It was a solid ten billion degrees in the costume.

I kept watching until the last riders—a pair of teenage boys—brushed past me.

“Nice costume,” one of them said in a teasing tone.

They both chuckled.

“You, too,” I called after him.

You too? What even was that supposed to mean? I didn’t know. I sighed and shook the front of my costume to let some air in the neck hole.

The octopus stared creepily down at me with one scowling yellow eye. The cracked paint formed the shape of a fanged mouth where no mouth should be at all.

That was it. No one else was coming off the ride. No unaccompanied children appeared out of the ether.

Those nerves I was feeling before the job—they were back, tenfold. I’d get blamed for losing the kid before I even met her. Then I’d get a one star review. Then my Delymo career would be over. And more importantly, what would happen to M? Lost, scared, and alone?

“Excuse me,” I waved at the attendant.

He gave me a strange look, probably because of the bunny suit.

“Is there someone still around back? A little girl by herself?” I asked.

He shrugged.

I’d posted my availability on Delymo for everything relating to kids because I liked helping people and making them happy. Kids had the purest joy. Even better, kids’ party gigs gave me an excuse to wear the costumes I spent all of my free time making.

I hadn’t been at the babysitting game long, but I had never lost a child before.

Now what was I supposed to do?

Maybe there was security around here somewhere—someone who could announce an Amber alert over the speakers. It was definitely time to message SpankKing and let him know his daughter wasn’t here.

I pulled out my phone, but before I could open the app, I caught a glimpse of movement.

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