“Miss,” the other officer says. “I think you know it is.”
I frown. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Did he really just suggest what I think he suggested?
“How am I supposed to make a living?” Melissa shouts. “This is my life’s work!”
Melissa argues with the cops for another fifteen minutes until they finally leave. I keep mostly quiet as I don’t know what to say, and when they’re gone, I give her a big hug.
“I’m so sorry,” I tell her. “I’m sure it will work out. Come on. Let’s go get coffee.”
Wiping her eyes, Melissa and I get in our cars and drive to our favorite spot downtown. We both order our usuals; I get a dirty chai and she gets a double espresso. But as we sit down, I get a call from a private number. Normally I don’t answer private calls, but because of what happened today, I pick up.
“Yes, hello? Jennie speaking.”
“Hi, Jennie.” My body goes stiff as I recognize the voice on the other end. I glance at Melissa and mouth, “It’s Grayson!”
“Um, hi,” I say nervously into the phone.
“So have you rethought whether or not you’d like to take the job?” he asks. I’m about to reply but stop when I hear the tone of his voice. He’s smiling on the other end of the call. And it doesn’t take a genius to know why. A billionaire with unlimited funds who wants something?
“You did this!” I gasp. I already know it’s true, but I can still hardly believe it. “You had her license revoked!”
“What do you mean?” he replies. “Your friend’s having some issues with her massage parlor? Damn. Sorry to hear that! Good thing you’ve got a job lined up here that’ll be enough to support the both of you.”
I’m steaming. If I had a glass of water and Grayson was here right now, I’d throw it in his face. Melissa is looking at me, wondering what’s going on.
“I’ll think about it!” I snap. I hang up and set my phone facedown on the table and fold my arms across my chest.
“What? What’d he say?” Melissa asks.
“He just offered me the job again.”
“Well, you better take it,” she scoffs.
“He knew about your license,” I continue. “He set this all up!”
Melissa shakes her head and tugs at her hair with one hand. “Son of a bitch. Well, you better take it still.”
“What!?” I ask, shocked. “You think I want to work for a guy who would do something like that?”
“What other option do you have? You want to try and get part-time work at another parlor? Be my guest. I don’t know anyone who has room, and I can’t even imagine when I’ll be back in business.”
“But Melissa!” I protest. “He’s—he’s—”
“A prick,” she grumbles. “But a rich prick. And as long as he’s offering, you better just take his money. We’ll figure this out later.”
I sigh and Melissa and I finish up our coffees, then I go outside and try to call Grayson back, only to be reminded that he’d called from a private number. “Great,” I groan. “I have to actually go to his house to talk to him.”
“That’s fine,” Melissa tells me. She’s upset but she’s putting on a brave face for me. “I’ll see you back at the house, okay?”
“Okay,” I say, giving her a huge hug. “We’ll eat ice cream and watch Netflix.”
“You’re the best,” she says as I climb back into my car and put Grayson’s house back into my GPS.
I can’t even believe I’m doing this. It was bad enough what happened between us, let alone what he just did to Melissa. How could he ever think that sabotaging my best friend would make me want him? Maybe it’s true what they say about the ultra-rich: they really are out of touch.
I expect to find him waiting for me at the door as I pull up, gloating with his shirt off, ready to lead me into the back for a massage – and of course some extras – but I’m surprised to find a note on the door with my name on it.
Jennie,