Page 57 of The Billionaire's Wake-up-call Girl

If I don’t get my bonus, that’ll all change, of course.

“All right.”

“Just stop trying to contact Hello Morning, okay? And FYI, my boss at Hello Morning is a woman, and she’s absolutely awesome. Promise you will only have praise for me and my service. Or even better, leave it alone. Listen to me for real here. The fastest way to ensure you never hear from me ever again is to get involved in my life.”

He’s silent.

“I’m pretty freaking capable, don’t forget,” I add. “Things are under control over here. Stop being so serious. This is just a wake-up call.”

He’s silent for a bit, and I wonder whether he’s thinking what I’m thinking—that it’s not just a wake-up call.

He says, “I’m not serious, I’m realistic. People frequently confuse the two.”

“Realistic, then.”

“I see things for what they are. No candy coating.”

“What’s wrong with candy coating?”

“It’s a lie.”

“I’m guessing you don’t like jelly beans, then.”

“I don’t mind candy coating on candy. It’s everywhere else that it annoys me. Family pictures at Christmas. The smile on the barista taking your order…”

“What, you hate kindness?”

“Kindness is just another survival strategy.”

“Oh my god. That is such a sad thing to think.”

“Realistic is not sad.”

“You know what you need?”

“You at dinner?”

“No, you need some baby goat videos in your life. That’s what I’m getting here.”

“Baby goat videos? Is that a thing now?”

I snort. “Yes, and you so need them.” Of course he wouldn’t be on social media. I turn over. I should go. But I want to stay. I could stay on this call forever.

“Tell me something else,” he says. “Something small.” The way he asks, I think he feels the same as me. Needing to go. Wanting to stay. “Is there a man in your life? A significant other?”

“That’s not small, that’s invasive.”

“I have a code,” he says. “I don’t go for other guys’ women.”

My heart skips a beat. “Nobody’s going for anybody here. We’re voices on the phone,” I say.

“We’re more,” he says.

“Now who’s candy coating?”

“Tell me you feel it,” he says.

I swallow. “There’s no significant other,” I say, because I like that he has a code. It means something to me. “But you can’t begoing for me. This isn’t that.”

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