“If there’s one thing I don’t do,” I say. “It’s beg for things.”
She inhales. “Oh yeah? What do you do then?”
I smile and walk into my office, slamming the door behind me. “I negotiate.”
Falling into my plush, leather chair, I watch the city I’ve grown to love.
Detroit.
From this high up, it looks fantastic. But there is still a lot of work to finish. Investors are falling in love with these streets all over again.
Sure, this surge is a lot like the last one. If things collapse, they collapse. That’s just the way the world works.
Lucky me, I’m always ahead of the curve.
“Okay,” she says. “Let’s negotiate.”
I grab a cup of coffee from my desk and lean back. “What are we negotiating over?”
A quick pause makes my heart race. “My pussy,” she says.
I bite my tongue and spill the dark liquid all over my new white t-shirt.
“Shit,” I exclaim. “Dammit.”
“Hm… Is that how you start the negotiation process?” she asks.
I sigh and quickly reach for some water. Of course, this only makes the stain worse. “Sorry, I just spilled coffee over my brand new shirt,” I say.
“How much was that shirt?” she asks.
Women. It’s like I said before. There’s always a price.
“Too much,” I say. “How about we negotiate during dinner, say seven o’clock tonight?”
She pauses. I don’t normally dote over women, but she’s got me hanging on the line like a tightrope walker.
“You know what? It’s a deal,” she says. “This isn’t a date. It’s a strict business negotiation.”
I try not to chuckle. “Yes, of course. Besides, I don’t go on dates.”
“Good,” she says. “I’ll see you. Seven.”
She gives me her address and hangs up the phone.
I think I’ve met my match. This can only mean one thing:
I’m doomed.
Madison
“I was pretty drunk at that party of yours,” Dasha admits.
It’s a nice day out. The sun shines bright, and the air is breezy and cool. With the windows open at her house, everything feels perfect.
“Yeah?” I laugh. “I guess I was too.”
Some days I’m envious of her life. Though she’s a single parent living in a hard city, she’s made everything in her life work to her advantage. That deadbeat father is in jail for the next 30 years, but she is the owner of her own Realty business, cashing in checks left and right.