I winced. “Ouch.”
Harry shrugged once more. “Not that I could blame her for moving on. I was an escort. I was hired to keep her company. I just wished she’d given me a chance, that she’d ask me to give it up, because I would’ve. For her, I would’ve.”
The mood of the afternoon changed after that. We ate in near silence, both lost in our own thoughts, and when I took Harry home, he exited the car then hesitated. He turned to me and said solemnly, “So this client…uh…just…be careful, Matt. Be careful.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, I responded, “I will. Thanks for the company. Basketball this week?”
It was then his smile returned. “You know it.”
I drove home wondering how someone like Harry could fall for a client. Thinking about Maya’s quirky and sassy attitude, the answer came quickly.
Easily.
Chapter Five
Mia
I spent the afternoon silently fretting and covering that fact by cleaning every corner of my apartment till it was sparkling. Maybe I had been wrong. Maybe Matt Quinn wasn’t man enough for the job I had propositioned.
My brain rolled its eyes at me. Okay, so he was man enough. Matt Quinn was man enough to wrestle an alligator. With one hand tied behind his back. Wearing a damn blindfold. While singing the musical score from Chicago.
It was likely that he didn’t want this job, but didn’t know how to break it to me. So I had to let him off without guilt.
I opened a new email and started typing.
To: Quinn@DFT.com
From: Minniemouse1987@outlook.com
Subject: So…
Quinn,
So…it’s been a few hours since I sent you my last email.
Listen, I realize that taking someone’s virginity is normally a big deal, but for me, it isn’t that big of a deal.
Groaning, I immediately deleted what I wrote. Of course losing your virginity is a big deal! Who was I kidding?
I tried again.
To: Quinn@DFT.com
From: Minniemouse1987@outlook.com
Subject: (none)
Hi Quinn,
I stared at the open email for a long while, not knowing where to go from the greeting. I stared for over a minute, over five minutes, over ten minutes before I started to write again.
To: Quinn@DFT.com
From: Minniemouse1987@outlook.com
Subject: (none)
Hi Quinn,
I’m guessing your lack of response means you aren’t interested, and that’s totally fine. I know how it is.
I’m sure I can find someone else at the agency that would be acceptable.
Anyone you’d like to recommend?
Maya
I read the email over and over until I convinced myself it was fine. I clicked send, closed the lid on my laptop, and walked out of my apartment, grabbing my phone on the way.
I wouldn’t think about Matt Quinn. Not today.
I needed to get out.
I needed to run.
Chapter Six
Quinn
As I walked into my apartment, my eyes skimmed the email for the sixth time. I read the line that was bugging me the most for the seventh, eighth, ninth time.
“I’m sure I can find someone else at the agency that would be acceptable.”
My brow bunched as an emotion I couldn’t quite recognize squeezed a knot inside my chest. I’d been written off in a matter of hours.
I was Matt fucking Quinn. I didn’t get written off. I got fought over, for Christ’s sake. There was no way in hell I’d be recommending any of the other guys. If she wanted an escort, she’d get me, or she’d get no one.
I squelched my irrational anger and typed slowly.
To: Minniemouse1987@outlook.com
From: Quinn@DFT.com
Subject: Whoa, Nelly! Hold your horses.
Maya, my dumpling,
Please forgive my tardy response. I was at lunch with a friend and didn’t want to be that guy. You know, that guy who’s more interested in his phone than his friend?
Although I’d been thoroughly tempted to be that guy when I read your email.
Also, yes, that is most definitely something I can help with. I would consider it a privilege to be the man you chose for the job.
Still available,
Quinn loves chocolate…any chocolate…all the chocolate x
After sending the email, I called DFT. Candace, the receptionist, owed me a favor, and I was calling it in.
“DFT. This is Candace speaking. How may I help you?”
I smirked. Candace was a sixty-something-year-old woman who acted like a twenty-year-old. She had her children young and was a great-grandmother two times over. Also, she loved the shit out of me. “Candy, sweetheart, how are you this fine day?”
She grunted a laugh at my over-cheerfulness. “I’m fine, thank you, Matthew. What can I do for you, hon?”
I hated to do it, but felt I needed to. No one would be better at serving Maya than me. “Remember when I caught you napping at your desk and I woke you before anyone saw. You said you owed me. I’m calling in my marker.”
She made a noise in her throat then asked suspiciously, “And what would that favor be?”
I didn’t waste time beating around the bush. “I need you to check the reception email. There’s a new client who will likely try to book with another guy. I need you to tell her there is no one else. No one else but me.”
Candace sighed. “Matty, sweetie, I don’t know. I could get into a lot of trouble.”
“Are you going to tell anyone? Because I’m not. It’ll be strictly between you and me. Besides, the client might never even book. This is all just a would-be scenario.”
I could all but hear her roll her eyes. “All right. Give me her email address.” I gave her Maya’s email and waited. “Well, she hasn’t booked yet, Matty. If she tries to, I’ll text you.”
Letting out a sigh of relief, I thanked her. “You’re the best, Candy. Love ya.”
The day’s heat was getting to me, so I removed my shirt and threw myself on my bed. It had been a few hours since I heard from Maya. I was beginning to think I was being punished for my delayed response earlier. I didn’t know how long I’d slept, but I woke to my phone vibrating on the nightstand. Blinking sleepily, I wiped at my eyes, picked it up, and smiled at seeing the sender.
To: Quinn@DFT.com
From: Minniemouse1987@outlook.com
Subject: So…this isn’t awkward…
Quinnling,
I’m so glad you’re not that guy. I hate that guy. And there’s nothing to apologize for. Keeping your friend company without checking your phone just earned you major brownie points in my book.
I’m sorry for assuming you wouldn’t have the balls to let me know if you didn’t want to assist me.
Truth is, I wouldn’t have booked with anyone else. Not even if you had recommended them.
Not at all awkward,
Maya ever after x
Subconsciously, my chest puffed out, and I felt like beating on it like a gorilla while strutting around like a peacock. But I was too tired for that. Instead, I lay with an arm behind my head while typing with the other.
To: Minniemouse1987@outlook.com
From: Quinn@DFT.com
Subject: Mmmm…brownie points.
Maya,
I’m glad we got that sorted.
Now, shall we get down to business?
If it’s all right with you, I’d like to know the extent of your sexual experience, so I can be better prepared for our meeting.
You can ask me anything you like in return. Scout’s honor.
Quinn