Page 23 of Scoring Eden

She softens, sinking back into her seat with a quiet, “Oh.”

“It would seem like I’m exploiting you, and the goal here is to make me look better in the media, not worse. And for the record, I think what you do is admirable.”

She barks a laugh. “Oh, you have a lot of respect for dental receptionists, do you? We’re just your regular old war heroes, serving our countries on the frontlines of dental healthcare.”

My lips twitch. Damn, this woman won’t let me rest for even a second. “I meant that you show up every day for your son, even though you clearly hate your job and your boss is a fucking prick. I think that’s worth a little admiration.”

For the first time in this conversation, she’s lost for words. She stews on what I’ve said for a long, pregnant minute then whispers, “Thanks, I guess.”

I shrug. “You’re welcome.”

She peers up at me through her lashes with a small smile. “For the record, I don’t think there’s anything admirable about kicking a ball for millions of dollars.”

“Fair.”

“So, what do you expect me to do for money if I quit my job? You understood the part where I said I have a son, right? He needs food, clothing, and you know…a place to live.”

“I’ll pay you.”

“You’ll subsidize what I’m losing from my job so I can pretend to be your girlfriend?”

“No, actually.” I shake my head then press on before she can yell at me again. “I was thinking one mil up front for a ten-month period, since we’ll have to keep this going until at least the end of the season in December. Then a further two million to tide you over while you find a job you actually want to do. That should be enough to find you a bigger place too, right?”

Her face drains of color. She opens her mouth, snaps it shut, then repeats the process again. It goes on for so long I start to worry that I’ve shocked her into an absence seizure.

“As much as I enjoy watching you gape like a goldfish, would you mind saying something now?”

She rolls her lips and nods. Still silent.

“Eden?”

“Um,” she clears her throat. “Three million dollars?”

“Yeah, if that isn’t enough, we can look at it together and reach a figure you’d be happy with.”

“No.” She shakes her head so hard I’m sure she’ll give herself a concussion. “That’s…um… That’s…”

“You need to give me something here, Eden, because I have absolutely no idea what you’re thinking.”

She snaps herself out of whatever trance she was in and stares up at me with a dazed expression. “Is that not a bit too Pretty Woman?”

“I wouldn’t be paying you to have sex with me.”

“No?” She nods to herself again. “Okay, well, that’s reassuring.”

“And your boss is an asshole. Think about how good it would feel to slam a resignation letter down on his desk.”

I might have got her with that one.

Her eyebrows lift, an edge of excitement crinkling the corners of her eyes. “You make a good point.”

“Do you have any other concerns? Any rules of your own that you want to put in place?”

She gnaws on the skin of her thumb, her eyelashes fluttering furiously on top of her pink cheeks. “I think…I need to think about it. I mean, there’s so much at stake. I need to think about how this affects my son, you know? I can’t make a decision like this right now, not without considering everything. The last thing I want is for him to be affected by the choices I make, and this is such a big risk.”

“Yeah, I get it.”

And I do. I can’t imagine the pressure she has on her as a single mom, especially when she’s co-parenting with a man who, from what I overheard, shows more affection to his briefcase than to his kid. Not to mention the fact that he’s threatening to take the little boy away from her.