Page 10 of Emergency Exit
He could see that the appeal for sympathy was working, but he needed more. He couldn’t double down on sympathy without sounding pathetic. He needed something that appealed to her practical side.
“I bet your firm is billing you out at, what? Two-fifty an hour? Then there’s the weekend—that’s time and a half. I should be paying you at least twelve hundred a week. And I would becauseit would be worth it to me, but Indeed won’t post job listings for a girlfriend.”
Laying out the figures made Harper look surprised and then thoughtful. She didn’t date for money, but money had some appeal.
“But honestly,” he added with a smile, “You’d be doing me the biggest favor. What can I do to make you change your mind? I really would buy you whatever you wanted.”
“Anything I wanted?” Harper’s voice wavered and went up a notch.
“Yes. Diamonds? Whatever bag isthebag these days?” There was a sarcastic note in his voice and Ash knew he’d misplayed it by the frown that pinched Harper’s eyebrows. She wanted something, but she wasn’t about status symbols. She definitely wasn’t Emma. He consciously corrected his tone and went for something funny.
“How about a pony? I can’t do unicorns yet, but I’ve got a guy who’s working on it.”
“What?”
“Pretend I didn’t say that last one, but I think you want something. What is it?”
Harper took a nervous breath and a big sip of her drink.
“Um…What about cash?” Harper’s voice wobbled and she looked like she was moments from crying. Whatever she was about to say was stressing her out.
“That too,” said Ash, he sensed he was close to closing the deal, but he was puzzled. “How much do you need?”
Her hand was shaking around her glass. He wanted to scoot around the table to hug her. Whatever it was, she didn’t need to be that nervous about it.
“I need ten thousand dollars,” she whispered, and he tried not to laugh at the minuscule amount.
“Absolutely,” said Ash, nodding and holding out his hand.“It’s a deal.”
“A deal?” she repeated, staring up at him with those doe-eyes. “Oh. No. I think I drank my drink too fast. I can’t...”
“Yes, you can,” said Ash confidently. “We’re going to have a great time, and your ten-grand problem is going to disappear.”
“No one will loan me the money,” she whispered.
“I’m going to give it to you, no strings attached,” he whispered back. “Why do you need it?”
Her hands fluttered nervously around her glass, but she finally got the words out.
“I accidentally lost someone’s engagement ring.”
“Eee,” said Ash, making a sympathetic face. “And it never got found?”
“No. And they spent twelve grand on it. I gave them some already. But I need ten grand to make it go away.”
Harper was a nerd. An adorable, fashionable, gorgeous nerd, and someone was making her miserable over a stupidly small amount of money. That annoyed Ash. He was going to fix it. And possibly also spoil Harper rotten while he was doing it.
“Ten grand, post-it notes, and a tablet thingie. Smoak and Ash – the dynamic duo. Done.” He held out his hand again, and Harper tentatively put hers into it.
“Done,” she repeated.
4
Harper
Dramatalk
Harper checked her outfit in the full-length mirror and snapped a picture. The picture got uploaded to her outfit tracker app. The app ensured that she kept her work ensembles on a two-week rotation. She’d initially used a spreadsheet, but the app was easier. Now, she just used the spreadsheet to catalog her wardrobe and avoid double purchases. Not that she would be doing any wardrobe upgrades in the next year. The move to Seattle had left her broke.
