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“Good, good. I know you’ll take care of everything.” He wiped his palms on his dress pants, obviously feeling the awkwardness between us just as I was.
I had no idea why things were awkward. And considering Hirsh was the one who’d taught me about masturbation when I was twelve, there was definitely something off.
“I heard we have a new intern.” His words were an octave higher than usual, like he was surprised he’d thought of something to talk about. “From an accredited film program, no less. How did you swing that one?”
Damn Barbara! I hadn’t even confirmed it yet and she was already blabbing.
“I didn’t. He arranged it all himself.” He’d weaseled his way in, and I hadn’t been able to say no.
This experience was either going to end with me being a huge joke or prove that I was more than simply the boy with too much imagination to sit still.
“I just met with his professor and she’s gotten approval from the dean. Cory starts next week.”
“I like that you’re taking an interest even though I know you’re swamped.”
I might be able to fake it here, in front of Hirsh, but a classroom full of students was a totally different animal. And I needed help in the worst way. I had zero skills in public speaking. I had zero fashion sense, and a pathetic wardrobe that looked more like a near-homeless burger-flipper than a vice president.
For all intents and purposes, I was more like the student than the mentor.
The only option was to jump right in, and hopefully I’d come out the other side in one piece.
Chapter 5
Grace
I had downloaded number thirty-four.
And I’d had the best solo orgasm of my life.
Seriously, I was a perv. Who got off seeing a man they had a crush on with other women?
I shook my head, walking into the high-rise office building downtown at Yonge and Adelaide. What had possessed me to take this meeting? I’d had to use public transportation because there was no way I was braving the drive into the center of the city in the middle of a weekday.
I loathed public transportation and I had grown accustomed to having a personal driver who took me wherever I needed to go.
My heels clicked on the tile as I walked up to security. An attractive man greeted me and it didn’t go unnoticed the way he sized me up as I walked toward the security desk.
“I have an appointment with Collette Ellery.”
She had recently taken over as CEO of Elle Cosmetics and was looking to reorganize the company. Apparently one of the clients I’d worked for over the summer had recommended me.
Word of mouth was working in my favor, which was good for business and my bank account. However, I needed more of it considering it had been weeks since I’d finished my last contract job and I didn’t have anything else lined up.
The security guard picked up a binder, flicked over a few pages, then laid it in front of me. “Fill this out, please.”
I felt his eyes on me while I scribbled my name, the date and time, and when I looked up, he immediately averted them to one of the small televisions behind the desk. I clipped on the visitor badge and headed to the elevator. I pressed 18 then settled against the back wall.
There had been a time when Jade would have flirted with Mr. Security Guard, leaving him a throbbing pile of goo upon her exit. I had learned from the best after all.
When I first laid eyes on Sadie Spencer, I had been waiting for a classmate at a trendy bar downtown. She was with a John. I had been sitting beside them and eavesdropped on their conversation, somewhat in awe of her confidence. I had accidentally caught her eye and from that moment on she knew I was listening. Just before she left with her date she slipped across the wood, toward me, her bar napkin, on which she’d scribbled:
It’s harder than it looks. Call me if you’re interested.
She’d signed her note Stella—her escort name.
I had immediately dismissed it. But then my world had come crashing down.
The second semester of my first year of university, my parents had told me they’d lost all of their money in bad investments, which meant my tuition check for my second year was going to bounce. Not to mention the mortgage payments if they didn’t figure out a way to fix their finances, and quick. I’d known working at Gap wasn’t going to solve my problem. I’d needed a way to make a lot of money, quickly, not only for my tuition, but my parents needed help, and I couldn’t leave them hanging. Not if there was something I could do.
