Page 113 of Champagne Nights

Damian cashed me out, and I held out my hand to David. “It was nice to meet you, David.”

“Likewise, Ben. Have a good night.”

I walked out and climbed into my truck. As I pulled out of the parking lot and was stopped at a red light, I looked to my right and saw the medical building David was talking about. A million reasons entered my mind as to why I shouldn’t go, but like hesaid, I could just sit and listen. I looked at the clock on my dash. It was seven fifty-five.

“Ah, what the hell,” I said as I pulled in and parked.

Chapter Seven

Paisley

Thank God it was Friday. I stepped into my office at the LA Times, and immediately, Kenny called me into his.

“Paisley, I need to see you, please.”

“What’s up, Kenny?” I asked as he motioned for me to have a seat.

“Dear Paisley is ranking high on the charts—people like what you have to say because you’re young. You’re giving the older generation something new. I want to expand, Dear Paisley.”

“What do you mean ‘expand’?”

“Dear Paisley is about love and relationships, but not sex. We’ve been getting a shitload of questions from readers who want to ask questions about sex, but it doesn’t fit into the column correctly. So here’s what I want to do. I want you to write two columns: Dear Paisley on love and relationships and Dear Paisley: How about sex.” He grinned.

I sat there, cocking my head and narrowing my eyes. “I’m not a doctor.”

“You don’t have to be!” He chuckled. “We won’t put any questions through that involve medical issues. This column will be pure fun about sex and the things readers want to know.”

“Again, I’m not a doctor.”

“Paisley, open your mind. Step outside the box. Let sex in! You can do it. Look at what you’ve done for Dear Paisley. I’ll tell you what: let’s try it for a month. If it’s not going well or too much for you, we’ll cut it out. Come on, Paisley; it’ll be fun!” he said as he got up from his chair and put his arm around me.

“I’ll do it on one condition.”

“What’s your condition?”

“I get to work out of my home more.”

“Okay, but you already pretty much do that.”

I smiled as I left his office. A sex column, I thought as I shook my head. This could kill my career.

After leaving work, I met Keaton and Charlotte for dinner at The Park, a restaurant on Sunset Blvd. Being a Friday night, there was nowhere to park in the parking lot or on the street, so I had to park in the medical building lot and walk. It was a last-minute thing, and I really didn’t want to go, but I knew if I didn’t, I’d hear about it tomorrow since I was going to be at my parents’ house for Halloween.

“Hey, sis,” Keaton said as I sat beside him in the booth.

Charlotte glared at me as she sipped her water. “I called you two days ago, and you didn’t call me back.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. I had to work extra hard on my column to meet the deadline because I wasn’t feeling well a few days ago.”

“You weren’t feeling well because you’re depressed, sis,” she replied. “Depression makes you sick.”

“I’m not depressed,” I said as I shook my head. “I may still be sad, but I’m not depressed.”

“You’re depressed,” they both said in unison.

I rolled my eyes and changed the subject as fast as I could. “Kenny called me into his office today and told me they are expanding Dear Paisley. I’m going to talk about sex now.”

“Ew, I’m not reading that,” Keaton said.

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