Jenny snuggled up against Cole, and Audrey watched her friend carefully. “Jenny, come to the bathroom with me,” she said after a while, grabbing her by the hand. She flashed a dimpled smile at us. “We’ll be back in a few, guys.”
“What’s that all about?” Cole asked, watching Audrey drag Jenny away from him.
“I think Jenny’s going to get a talking to,” I said.
“About what?”
“Not getting her hopes up about the billionaire with the box seats,” I said.
“Huh,” Cole said, watching them retreat.
Audrey
I steered Jenny past the ladies’ room, down the hall to the empty coat check. I looked around carefully, making sure that no one from James’s family was nearby or could see us. “Jenny,” I said gently. “Cole hired you through AccommoDating, right?”
“Of course,” she said.
“He seems like a nice guy.”
“He’s awesome, Dre. We’ve been having so much fun.” She beamed at me and grabbed my hands. “Thank you for doing this for me. Elena’s so happy that James sent her a referral. I told her I was going to rock Cole’s world and make him a regular.”
“Okay,” I said. “I just want to make sure, though…”
“What?”
“That you don’t think he’s gonna buy you, or anything,” I said miserably. “The way you were looking at him out there—”
“Aw, Dre, c’mon!” She said. She was laughing at me. “This isn’t my first date. You don’t think I have an actual crush on Cole Bryson, do you?”
“Don’t you?” I asked, dumbfounded.
Jenny shrugged. She looked exasperated. “I like his wallet. I like his thick co**ck. I like his box seats. I like batting him around like a cat toy.”
“You don’t like him?”
“Oh yeah—I like him, all right. Who the f**k wouldn’t? He’s wicked hot, and he’s a billionaire! But he’s a John, Dre. He’s paying for me to do whatever he wants. And he wants to do lots of things, let me tell you. He’s nasty, and I like it.” She paused to fluff her hair.
“But just because I’m enjoying myself doesn’t make it any less of a job. Or any more than a job. I mean—oh, you know what I mean.”
My heart sank, and I nodded at her. “I know exactly what you mean.”
“Enough about me. I can take care of myself.” She looked at me with her big, blue eyes. “How’s it going with Mr. Sex in a Suit?”
“Great,” I said noncommittally.
“He did f**k, you, right? I saw you two out there.”
“He f**ked me,” I said. “We f**ked.”
“Was it that bad?” Jenny was looking at me as if I had three heads. “Dre, are you going to cry or something?”
“No,” I said, but my eyes were totally filling with tears. I blotted them carefully. “Jenny, I can’t cry. His whole family is out there. And they can’t know how we know each other, either.”
“Okay,” she said. “We can handle that. I’ve had to lie to so many wives and girlfriends that the lies just spring out, Dre. And they’re usually pretty good. Don’t worry about that part. But we do need to worry about those tears. Tell me what’s going on.”
I shook my head almost violently. “I can’t. I can’t talk about it.”
“He hit you or something? Is he some kind of freak?”
“Nope,” I said.
She played gently with my hair. “You cross some kind of line with yourself?” she asked.
I probably never gave Jenny enough credit for being smart. “Something like that.” I sniffed.
“S’okay, Dre. That happens to everybody.”
She hugged me. “The thing is, nobody knows what those lines are but you. That’s why it’s awesome that feelings and thoughts are invisible. They’re like magic. Nobody knows the truth but you, okay? You’re safe.”
“Okay.” I sniffled some more.
“So you do what you think is right. And remember, if it gets too bad, just close your eyes.”
“’Cause then it’s like it never happened,” I finished for her. “Jenny, I probably haven’t told you this lately, but you’re smart.”
“I know,” she said. “It’s my secret weapon.” She gave me a long look. “And Dre—just because it’s not gonna happen for me, doesn’t mean it’s not gonna happen for you.”
“What?” I asked.
“You know.”
I shrugged. I knew exactly what she meant. “Jenny, it’s not gonna happen for me.”