7. Cole
COLE
I watched Audrey and James for the rest of the night. They appeared to be a couple that was madly in love. They didn’t stray from each other’s side, and James had his arm around her waist for the entire party. He even had another bite of crab cake . If that wasn’t evidence of something, I didn’t know what was.
James said he’d hired her, and I believed him. But what I didn’t believe was that it was strictly business. I’d known him for years, and I’d never seen him look as interested in a woman as Audrey. He said it was for show, but my buddy wasn’t that good of an actor.
I might have to force his hand a little—just a tiny nudge.
I waited to make my move. The party started to break up, and James left to get the car. Audrey was finally alone—and I made a beeline for her, approaching from behind.
She turned and jumped a little. “Oh!”
“I didn’t mean to sneak up on you,” I lied.
“Hey, Cole.” She sounded fake-friendly.
“Hello, Audrey.” I gave her a wide smile. I made sure it was on the side of leering. I was being a dick, but it was all for a good cause.
“James is calling for the car,” she said, sounding nervous.
“I know.” I leaned against the wall next to her, blocking our conversation from the crowd. “He told me about you, you know.”
She only hesitated for a nano-second, but I caught it.
Audrey blinked at me. “Really? What did he say?”
“I know why you’re here,” I said. “I know he hired you. He never could stand to be alone with his family. But he also told me things aren’t physical between you two. That’s why you should come home with me tonight. And I’m not saying this to be an asshole—I’m saying it to help.”
Her brow wrinkled. “You’re not saying it to be an asshole, Cole? Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” I smiled at her. “It’s a business proposition. You fill my need, I’ll fill yours. You come home with me tonight, and I’ll pay you your regular fee. And James will still be paying you. You’ll make a tidy profit. It’s like a twofer.”
I leaned closer, waiting to hear what she said. Audrey looked torn. If she said yes, I could tell James she was just in it for the money. If she said no, my suspicions would be confirmed: she was into him.
“Don’t say no to a tidy profit,” I urged. “You’ll break my venture-capitalist heart.”
Audrey looked a little sick. “Did James say this was okay?” She seemed to be holding her breath.
“No,” I admitted. “I didn’t run it by him yet. But James isn’t exactly sentimental.”
The door opened beside us, and James headed our way. “It’s true, I’m not sentimental,” he said.
Uh-oh. He sounded pissed.
He reached us and took Audrey’s hand. She stared at their entwined hands for a moment, as if in shock, then up at his face.
He was glaring at me. “That was a dick move,” he said. “By the way, I heard almost everything you said.”
“It’s not like I was trying to hide it,” I said quickly.
He turned to Audrey. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, biting her lip.
He turned back to me. “ You are on my shit list.”
Bingo! He likes this girl for real. James practically had smoke pouring out of his ears.
I looked at him and snorted, unfazed. “I’m an entrepreneur—you know that. I see an opportunity, and I move for it, fast.”
James smiled at me tightly. “You’re my best friend,” he said, “which is why I haven’t punched you in the face. Yet. But for the record, Audrey is a person, not an opportunity. So please do not approach her with any more business propositions in the future.”
I studied his face, my glance trailing down to their interlocked fingers. “Why James, I didn’t know you cared.”
James scowled. “I care that you find someone else to put your entrepreneurial hands on tonight. Audrey has agreed to be exclusive with me for the next two weeks. Please don’t get her into trouble—not with me and not with her employer.”
He gave me a pointed look, and I nodded at him.
“Call me tomorrow,” James said. “If I answer, it means I’m speaking to you again.”
I smiled at both of them, and then I winked at Audrey. “See you. It’s too bad James can’t share—I’m much more fun than he is.”
James gave me one final disapproving glare, then hustled his not-so-fake date away from me.
“I’m sort of surprised you’re calling me, James, after your little hissy fit earlier,” I said. I’d moved onto another bar and was currently surrounded by women, none of whom were particularly catching my attention.
“I just dropped Audrey off. She was upset,” he said.
“Because I asked her to come home with me, and I offered to pay her? She is a hooker, right? Because I really wasn’t trying to offend her,” I said. This was true, but it wasn’t the whole truth. I hadn’t been trying to offend Audrey, not especially, but I had been trying to offend James.
“I’m not sure why she’s upset. Maybe because I told you she was an escort,” James mumbled.
“Well, she’s right about that,” I said. “You probably shouldn’t have said anything. She was pretending to be your girlfriend and doing a pretty good job of it. You threw her under the bus with that one.”
He sighed. “Thanks a lot.”
“So she’s gone? Did you fire her? Or did she quit?” I asked.
“Neither,” he said.
“So why’d she go home? I thought she was with you for the next two weeks?”
James was quiet for a moment. “I think she just needed to be alone.”
“You mean she quit,” I insisted.
“Is that what it means?” He sounded confused and, more interestingly, upset.
“Sounds like she quit to me.” I let that sink in. “So if you two are done…can I have her number? There’s not a lot of action out here tonight.”
“No, youcannothave her number,” he snarled. “I’ll text you her service’s number—there’s a girl there you might like. Jenny. She’s Audrey’s friend. Go get an escort of your own.”
I chuckled. “I know you like this girl. You can try to hide it, but you suck at it.”
“Thanks,” he said tersely.
“You might want to call her,” I said. “If I want her number, other guys do, too.”
“Talk to you later,” he said.
“If you’re lucky,” I said, then hung up.
My phone pinged with texts from James.
This is AccommoDating’s number.
The girl’s name is Jenny.
I grinned and dialed the number. I was always up for an adventure. More than that, I was always game for one-upping James. If my friend could have a hot, no-strings-attached fake girlfriend for the next two weeks? So could I. And mine would be even hotter, with even fewer strings.
Let the games begin!