Page 7 of The Billionaire and I

Loopsy didn’t smoke, thank God, but we still reeked of cigarettes by the time he was ready to leave—which was after nine beers and three shots of whiskey. He was a short, wiry guy, and he could’ve been anywhere between forty and a hundred years old. It was hard to tell; life hadn’t been kind to my client.His face was pitted and wrinkled, just as likely from booze as from age. He worked in construction and had a limp from an old injury. He was in consulting now, or so he said.

But Loopsy said a lot of things. And although he always requested me, a lot of those things turned real nasty on me once he started drinking. And he was always drinking!

Some guys hired hookers for the sex; some hired them because they hated women, and some hired them because they hated themselves. With Loopsy, it was a little bit of everything. I’d come to think of our “dates” as some sort of play he had to act out over and over. It was real sad. Our time together always started out the same: he’d have his arm around me, talking and laughing, telling me grand stories about his past and all the deals he’d supposedly done. He’d tell me I was beautiful and that he was so glad I spent time with him.

Then he would get shitfaced. Sometimes at a bar, sometimes at his condo. But what happened next was always the same. He’d start cursing at me, calling me names. Some pretty bad ones—you had to give it to him, he could get colorful! Sometimes, I didn’t even think he was talking to me, like maybe he was thinking of somebody else. Somebody who, in his mind, had done him wrong.

Then there was the sex. Or what was supposed to be the sex. Loopsy demanded it.

“Get on the bed,” he snarled. “I want to see that body! I paid for it!” But even with my hot lingerie and banging body, Loopsy couldn’t always get it up. Nine beers and three shots of whiskey did that to you! Loopsy’s limp dick frustrated him. “This isyourfault, you whore! How can a decent man get it up for a whore, huh?”

I’d like to say that this sort of client behavior was unusual, but it wasn’t. Compared to a lot of the guys, Loopsy wasn’t even that bad.

Although maybe that wasn’t true. I didn’t really know. Because what usually happened after that, I really couldn’t tell you. I went dark, as I liked to think of it. It was a trick I’d learned as a little girl. I’d taught Dre the same thing—to think of life like a movie. If it was bad, I pretended I was watching it and that it was happening to someone else. If it got really scary, and it often did, I just closed my eyes. Then I could never remember it—poof!It was like it never happened.

Instead, I thought about the dogs I would get, the Pitbull or the Rottie and the fat BFF mutt sidekick. I thought about picket fences, well-tended yards, kids playing on a swing set, sunshine, and lemonade. I thought about how my life could be someday, maybe if I saved enough money and found a way out.

Maybe. Someday.

I never cried. I never fought back. I’d learned a long time ago that it was better if I just went away for a little while.

Sunshine. Lemonade. Dogs wagging their tails.

Hooking sucked, Loopsy sucked, and the movie of my life that I’d been watching since I was little sucked. But I wasn’t going to focus on that. Rent was due. One thing I’d sworn to myself was that I’d never be homeless again, and I made more in one hour hooking than I would in an entire shift waiting tables.

I had nowhere to go, no one to run to. So this was it.

This was my life.

For now, Jenny,I reminded myself.This is just for now.

Sometimes I wondered how, after all this time, I could still be hopeful. My hope was like a little weed growing in a crack on a dirty sidewalk. Even when I tried to pluck it out, as I often did, it grew back.

So I’d decided that my hope was Meant to Be. And no matter what happened, even with my eyes closed, I knew it was always there. And that was something.

In fact, as it was all I had…it was everything.

CHAPTER 7

Cole

I watchedAudrey and James for the rest of the night. They appeared to be a couple that was madly in love. They didn’t stray from each other’s side, and James had his arm around her waist for the entire party. He even had another bite ofcrab cake. If that wasn’t evidence of something, I didn’t know what was.

James said he’d hired her, and I believed him. But what Ididn’tbelieve was that it was strictly business. I’d known him for years, and I’d never seen him look as interested in a woman as Audrey. He said it was for show, but my buddy wasn’t that good of an actor.

I might have to force his hand a little—just a tiny nudge.

I waited to make my move. The party started to break up, and James left to get the car. Audrey was finally alone—and I made a beeline for her, approaching from behind.

She turned and jumped a little. “Oh!”

“I didn’t mean to sneak up on you,” I lied.

“Hey, Cole.” She sounded fake-friendly.

“Hello, Audrey.” I gave her a wide smile. I made sure it was on the side of leering. I was being a dick, but it was all for a good cause.

“James is calling for the car,” she said, sounding nervous.

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