“See, love? You have to like me better than that tosser.”
“I like all of you the same, which is to say not at all. You’re all like my children. Sticky, smelly, and annoying.”
I leaned close to Petrov, whispering, “She has children?”
The big Russian shook his head in warning.
“I have to get reports toMeet-Cupidby this Friday. That means you only need to be using the app. They’re tracking how much you interact. They’re watching to see if this is working. Don’t fuck this up.”
“Miss Eva, ma’am.” Trick raised his hand like we were in grammar school. I let out a disgusted laugh. What a wanker.
“Patrick, yes?”
“I just, um, are we supposed to have sex with these women?”
Her eyes went wide, and she choked on her own spit for just a moment but recovered. “Patrick, I don’t care what you do with your dick. If you like the girl and want to sleep with her, great, but you don’t have to. You’re not being paid to sleep with them. That’s illegal.”
“Right?” He asked it like a question rather than a statement.
“Okay, good.”
“Great.”
I stared at the man, my brow furrowing. Was our little Trick a virgin? No... Maybe... Interesting. I filed that little nugget of information away for future use. A virgin. Huh. Who would have thought? He was handsome. Not as handsome as me, but who was? He had a certain all-American charm. Kind of like if Captain America was a hockey player from the Midwest.
“Don’t worry, Trick. No one’s gonna tell your mommy.”
Petrov nudged me and grunted.
“Oh, come on. It was too good to resist.”
The soft tap tap tap of Eva’s stiletto on the tile floor echoed in the room. “Are you finished?”
“Aye, I am.”
“Good. Get on the app. Go on some dates. Post on social media. Get us paid.”
I offered her a mock salute, then stood. “If that’s all, I suppose I have a date waiting to be found.”
She smirked. “That’s a good boy.”
Eva left, and the rest of the team began packing up, ready to leave for the day. I didn’t want to be on the app. I wanted to be on my little Tink. I couldn’t get the taste of her out of my mind. I swear the smell of her was still all over my sheets, even though that was impossible.
I pulled my phone from my pocket. The app was still open, and I rolled my eyes as I deleted my bio and updated it.
Bad boy looking for his good girl. Are you the pixie that’s going to straighten out this pirate?
Then I opened my text messages and called up her name. She hadn’t let me take a picture of her yet, so I’d used a screenshot of Tinkerbell, which made me grin like an idiot.
Me: What are you doing right now?
Tink: Having a drink.
Me: Where?
Tink: At a bar in the city.
She was here? Possibly close by.