Page 106 of Sweeter Than Fiction

“Jim, I’ve been ready. I just had to wait until I found the right girl.”

“And you think this one is the right girl? Is she the one?”

Without hesitation, I answer, “Absolutely.”

“Good for you. I’ve found the right one too…three times now.”

“Geez, Jim. You going for some kind of record?” I laugh.

“I keep telling myself that I don’t need another wife. But then, a beautiful redhead comes along, and I decide that I want to give her half of everything I own. When it ends in divorce, that’s exactly what I do. At this point, I’m convinced my divorce lawyer is sending them to me just to keep getting paid.”

“Man, you’re such a romantic.”

“Hey, I love love. A little too much it appears.”

“I’m sure you didn’t call me here just to compare love lives,” I tell him. “You wanted to talk about the next job?”

“Right. I don’t have anything else big in the city right now. Coming across real estate in New York can be a bit more of a waiting game. But I did just buy a cluster of abandoned townhomes in Chelsea that I want to remodel and then resell. I need someone to head up the project if you’re interested. There won’t be as many guys underneath you, but I’ll still pay you the same rate that I am now.”

I ask a few questions to get some more information, but really, I already know my answer. I love working for Jim, and I will take anything that keeps me in New York. When I first signed up for this project, I didn’t think I would be moving here permanently. The plan was for me to move here first and have Alicia join me until the job was done, and then, we would go back to Nebraska a whole hell of a lot better financially.

But obviously, plans change. Nothing worked out the way I thought it would. And fuck, I’m happy it didn’t.

Now, I don’t want to leave New York. Maybe my family is back in Nebraska, but that’s what they make airplanes for. I’m not going anywhere.

Even if that meant eventually finding a new job.

“I’ll do it,” I tell him. “I’m sure they’ll be gorgeous if they’re anything like the apartments.”

“You like them, huh?” He smiles.

“Yeah, I was in one of the penthouses the other day.” Images of Abby sucking my cock pop into my head. “Stunning view.”

“Oh, I know. The architect I hired is a fucking genius I swear. You ever thought of leaving your apartment to live somewhere like that?”

That gets a laugh from so deep in my chest that it makes me cough. “Jim, you write my paychecks. What on God’s green Earth makes you think I can afford a place like that?”

“You don’t even know how much it costs.”

“I know that it’s far more than what I make.”

He walks over to me to clink his glass against mine. “Well, it’s a good thing that you know the owner.”

Chapter Forty-one

Abby

“What the hell took you so long?” I cry as I open up the door and pull Jenson inside.

“Ma’am, I came as fast as I could. You were so frantic on the phone that I rushed over. I’m pretty sure I forgot my wallet,” he says, patting down all of his pockets. “Guess you’re buying lunch.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

“What is wrong with you? You’re usually a little high-strung, but this may be a new level for you.”

“I’m pregnant,” I blurt.

His eyes go wide. “What?”

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