36. Jenny
JENNY
The wine hadn’t helped, so I’d moved on to chocolate. Dark chocolate usually helped me think straight, but I felt like a robot today. Open the candy wrapper, insert the chocolate into mouth, chew, and swallow. Repeat.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Cole. I missed him so much.
I’d never wanted to fall in love. I hadn’t thought it was possible for a girl like me. I’d always wondered if the “soulmate” thing was real or nonsense. But now I knew the truth. I’d experienced it for myself—a soulmate, one person to call your own. A husband, a life partner, whatever you wanted to call it. I wanted to call it a husband. That’s because I was traditional at heart, even though you’d never know it. After all, I was a hooker. But I wanted to get married. I wanted a family. I wanted to have one person love me and protect me.
Now I knew who that one person was, which made everything worse. I could never have Cole. We would never have a home with kids and a dog. I would never live happily ever after with the love of my life, who was also my best friend.
It felt like a knife was twisting in my heart. I mindlessly took another bite of chocolate. Chew. Swallow. Repeat.
My phone rang. It was Elena, my former boss, the Madam at AccommoDating, Inc. “Hello, Jenny,” she said briskly.
Her tone immediately had me on edge. “Hey, Elena. What’s up?”
“I need you to come to the office. As soon as possible.” She sounded tense.
“Um.” I bit my lip. “I quit, remember? I don’t want to take any more jobs.” I’d go back to waiting tables at Sizzler before I’d ever hook again!
“Oh, I remember,” the Madam said. “That’s what I need to talk to you about. There’s a problem.”
My stomach sank. “What kind of problem?”
“The kind that requires our immediate attention. I’ll be waiting for you.” She hung up before I could argue.
Sighing, I dragged myself off the bed and got dressed. I splashed cold water on my face and put on mascara for the first time in days. I might not work for Elena anymore, but I owed her. The only reason I had money in my bank account was because she’d given me a job.
What was the problem she was talking about? I didn’t need any more problems! Unease settled over me. But, as I had nowhere to go and nothing else to do, I locked up my apartment and headed back to AccommoDating, Inc.
Elena greeted me at the entrance. She wore a navy pantsuit with high heels, flawless makeup, including her signature maroon lipstick, and a frown. Uh-oh.
“Hello, Jenny,” she said.
“Hey, Elena. What’s up?”
She hustled me inside, and I was grateful for the office’s cool, dry interior. “Cole Bryson texted me earlier.”
My heart started pounding. “Oh.” I tried to sound disinterested.
“He said he’d like to hire you again.” She watched my expression carefully.
“ What? ”
“He wants to hire you again,” she said, enunciating the words slowly. “As his date for Audrey and James’s wedding.”
“No way,” I said immediately. “I won’t do it.”
Elena blinked at me. “He’s offering you a million dollars.”
I shook my head. “I can’t do it, Elena. Sorry.”
The Madam sighed. “Mr. Bryson mentioned you might respond that way. He had his lawyers reach out. They have some… stipulations… in case you refused.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Let me see what they said in their email.” She pulled out her tablet, brow furrowing as she read. “Here it is. If you don’t agree to return, they’ll file a breach of contract claim against you.”
“What do you mean, breach of contract?” I blinked at Elena, not understanding the legal jargon she was spouting at me.
The Madam scowled as she re-read the email from Cole’s attorneys. “It says that if you don’t agree to his new offer, he’ll take the money back from the first contract. And then he’ll sue you for damages.”
My stomach plummeted. “Damages? What the heck does that even mean?”
Elena’s scowl deepened. “It means money. Lots of it.”
“He can’t do that.” I shook my head. “I’m not exactly a lawyer, but isn’t that illegal? You can’t go back and undo what’s already been done. He hired me, I stayed with him for two weeks, and that’s that. I did everything I was supposed to do.”
“Not precisely,” she said. “His lawyers mentioned that in the email. You left before the contract term ended—by twelve hours, to be exact. His camera security has you time stamped as leaving his building before noon on Friday. Contractually, you were his until midnight.”
I threw up my hands. “That’s dumb , Elena. We both know it. And if he’s threatening to sue me for damages, so what? I’ll give him his money back. That’s all I have.”
Elena’s maroon lips puckered in distaste. “His lawyers anticipated that. They’re not just threatening you , Jenny. They’re also threatening me . If you don’t comply with his request, they’re going to go after my business and all my personal assets as well.”
I blinked at her. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“No,” the Madam said, “I’m not. I already ran this by my counsel, and she says that they can absolutely move forward. It might not hold up in court, but Mr. Bryson is a billionaire. He has all the money in the world to throw at making my business crumble and ruining my life. If he pursues this, I’ll go bankrupt trying to fight him.”
“Fuck, Elena, I’m sorry.”
“Me too. But it’ll all be okay once you sign the amendment and do what he wants,” Elena said, her voice firm.
“I’m not going to do that,” I said. “I can’t go back.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Why not? What happened? Did he do something to harm you?” Elena almost sounded hopeful. “Because if he did, we can fight him. I’m not letting someone hurt one of my girls.”
“No, it was nothing like that.” I didn’t dare tell her about his father’s threats. “It’s just that I don’t want to be with Cole.”
Elena’s eyebrow raised higher. “He’s a client, Jenny. I don’t expect you to want to be with him. I expect you to be his escort.”
“I was. I did what I was supposed to do,” I said stubbornly.
“Apparently, it wasn’t good enough,” Elena said. “He wants more.”
I wrapped my arms around my chest, wishing a hole would open in the floor and swallow me. “I don’t care if I have to return the money—I’ll do it.”
I didn’t want to go back to turning tricks again, to Loopsy and Fat Vinnie. Or waitressing at Sizzler. But this was my heart I was talking about. I couldn’t go back. All hell would break loose if I did, including my auntie Theresa. Cole wouldn’t want to be near me if he knew the truth.
It was better this way.
“Mr. Bryson doesn’t need court-awarded damages,” Elena said, her voice soothing. “He has more money than God. What he wants is you . He wants you back for a month. He said it would be very lucrative if you agreed. He hinted at more than a million—he mentioned a bonus and said it would be sizable.”
But I couldn’t even think about the money. “A month ?” I cried. “I can’t do that!”
I felt tears threatening. Cole had me backed into a corner. If I said no to Cole, he would have his lawyers go after Elena. She had two daughters she was trying to care for, and none of this was her fault.
But if I said yes, Cole’s father would punish him and help my auntie Theresa ruin my life once and for all. Lewis Bryson had explicitly threatened me—if I told Cole the truth, he’d make me pay.
I was backed against a wall—a billionaire’s wall—but that didn’t make it feel any better.
What the fuck was I supposed to do?
Elena’s phone buzzed, and she checked the number. “Hold on, okay? This is another VIP client that I have to deal with. Don’t go anywhere.” She hustled from the room.
Thenmyphone rang—it was Cole. Fuck! I wasn’t ready to talk to him. I didn’t know if I’d ever be ready. But I didn’t have much of a choice. “H-Hello?”
He didn’t bother with niceties. “I’m assuming you got my offer?” he barked.
“I’m not going to take it,” I said. “I’m sorry, Cole. But it’s not a good idea.”
“I had a feeling you were going to say that,” he said. “Did Elena tell you that my lawyers came up with the idea of suing you both for damages?”
“Yes,” I croaked. “But I don’t have any money, and it wouldn’t be fair for you to do that to Elena.”
“Oh, I know all about things being unfair.” He sounded angry. “And I also know you’re judgment-proof. That’s why I called you. You’re coming back to me, Jenny. Whether you like it or not.”
He went silent for a moment, letting that sink in.
My hands were sweating. My heart was pounding. The man I loved— my Cole—was nowhere to be found. The person on the other end of the line was cold. So cold, in fact, he reminded me of his father.
“My lawyers are threatening all sorts of stipulations, but I’ve got one of a different kind,” he said.
“W-What do you mean?”
“If you say no, I’m going to expose you,” Cole said. “And Audrey. And AccommoDating. I’m going to plaster it all over the Internet that you and Audrey are escorts and that Elena is nothing more than a glorified, incorporatedpimp. It’ll blow the roof off James and Audrey’s wedding, and he’ll hate me. But if that’s what it takes to get you back, I’ll do it.”
“You wouldn’t,” I said, the words coming out in a rush. “James is your best friend!”
“And Audrey’s yours,” he snapped. “I know you wouldn’t want to hurt her. So sign the contract and pack your things. You’re returning to Fifty Liberty, whether you like it or not.”
He hung up.
I gaped at my phone, dumbfounded.
The motherfucker played hardball.
If I said yes to him, I would enrage his father.
If I said no, he would ruin everything. He would go public about Audrey. He would ruin Elena.
And it would be all my fault.
I had a choice; I just didn’t have a good one.
Just then, Elena returned. “We need to give them an answer,” she said.
“I’ll do it—I’ll go back,” I said, my voice scratchy. “But tell the client I have some stipulations this time, okay?”
Cole wasn’t the only one withstipulations . That was just a fancy word for rules, and hookers could have rules, too .
“Tell Mr. Bryson that if I’m coming back, I need my own space,” I said. “I don’t want to be near him if I can help it. I’m his fake date—the keyword being ‘fake.’ We’re just for show.”
Elena appraised me. “Okay, Jenny. I’ll let him know.”
I straightened my shoulders. “Thank you.”
She hustled from the conference room, high heels clicking on the hardwood floors. And I was left alone with my thoughts, which circled one thing and one thing only: Cole Bryson.
You’re returning to Fifty Liberty, whether you like it or not.
The motherfucker played hardball, all right.
But so could I.