Page 72 of The Billionaire and I

I watched as she separated out my clean tees from my dirty ones, put my clothes neatly back into the correct drawers, closed up the suitcase, and put it away. “How do you know that they like cruises?” I asked.

“Shirley and I were talking about vacations,” she said as she unpacked the next suitcase. “She said she and Mike like to go cruising ’cause it’s real relaxing. You don’t have to go anywhere ’cause you’re already somewhere, you know?”

She set our toiletries down carefully, then set the collection of shells she’d amassed on the dresser.

“Jenny, have I told you that I love you?” I asked.

She beamed at me as she folded and re-folded one of her bikinis. “Yeah, you have. And I’m real glad, ’cause I love you, too. Now buy Shirley a cruise, will ya? It’s the least you can do for forgetting that she has a life outside work.”

“I’m an ass,” I said again.

“Nah,” Jenny said with a grin. “You were doing your best. But now you can do better, right? So do it.”

“Yes, Jenny. I will.” I vowed, right then and there, to do better in all areas of my life.

But especially in the area she occupied, front and center.

I may never have been in love before, but I was sophisticated enough to know the real thing when I found it.

I hadanother one of my employees book a trip for Michael and Shirley. The trip, as Jenny said, was “wicked nice.” The Ritz-Carlton cruise left from Boston and sailed to ports in Bermuda, Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. I had Jenny call her and deliver the good news. Even though I was in the kitchen, I could hear Shirley screaming through the phone.

“You did good with that cruise, Cole,” Jenny said as we snuggled under the covers that night. “I even told Shirley it was your idea.”

“Did she believe you?”

“Nah,” Jenny laughed. “But she was so happy. She said Michael’s eyes filled with tears because he was so glad she was bein’ recognized for all her hard work.”

“Ah, that’s nice.” I should’ve done it sooner.

As if she could hear my thoughts, Jenny patted me on the shoulder. “You could make it an annual thing, you know? Sending them on a nice trip? They’d probably never accept it, but you could still offer.”

“Shedidget you those thong bikinis,” I reasoned.

“Yeah, she did.” Jenny yawned. “Shirley’s the best, ya know?”

“I know.” I kissed the top of her head. “And you don’t let the best things in life go.”

“True.” She snuggled against me and murmured, “Love you.”

My heart swelled. Despite the drama with Celia Preston and my father, I’d never been so happy in my life. “I love you, too.”

I waited until she was asleep, then I crawled out of bed, padded out to the kitchen, and called my father. I’d planned on waiting, but I’d waited long enough. I was calm. I’d thought it through. Much like Shirley’s vacation, the conversation was long overdue.

It was time for me to step up.

It was late, and he’d already be getting to bed, but I wanted to get this over with. Dad picked up after one ring. “What the hell do you want?” he snarled. “It’s ten o’clock!”

“I wanted to talk to you,” I said, “after my girlfriend was asleep.”

“She’s not your girlfriend. She’s yourhooker,” he spat.

“Not anymore, Dad. I bought out her contract.” I paused for a beat. “She’s a civilian now. No more ties to the agency.”

“Being a prostitute is like being a lawyer—you’re always one, no matter what,” he said. “I’ve looked into this girl. She has a background, son. She’s not good for you.”

“Everybody has a story, Dad,” I sighed. “And you don’t end up working at an agency like AccommoDating unless you’ve had a rough go of it. That doesn’t make her a bad person. That doesn’t make her bad forme.”

“I think you need to hear me out on this. You know how strongly I feel,” Dad warned.

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