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Cole glances over at me coolly when I grunt and flip the visor back up. “You’re not as cheerful as I expected.”
I force a smile to my lips. He’s right. Just because he’s as dark as the storm clouds overhead doesn’t mean I should mirror his mood.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“I actually have clients other than Rex. One of them is a football player who lives in Three Oaks. I need to drive over to get his signature on his new contract. I need you to come along to be a witness. That way, if this meathead decides that he doesn’t want to pay his agency fees at the end of this year, I can say that he did, in fact, sign the contract. He tried to pull a lot of shenanigans the last time he signed with me.”
“So why not just tell him to kick rocks?” I ask.
Cole smirks. “Because he’s going to earn ten to fifteen million dollars this year. Depending on whether he’s traded to Tampa Bay or Dallas.”
My jaw drops. “For that much money, he’d better be the Michael Jordan of football.”
“Some of the higher paid QBs make thirty million dollars a year.”
I smack his arm. I can’t help myself.
“That’s bull and you know it.”
“It’s completely true.” He side-eyes me. “What, did you just learn that you’re in the wrong profession?”
“I think I’m in the wrong tax bracket to even consider such a thing.”
“Speaking of which….” He jerks his head toward the dashboard. “Your first paycheck is in the glove box. I just gave you cash.”
I grin and pull out the envelope, then rip it open. Cole looks on as I count out twenty-five hundred dollar bills.
“Oh no. You gave me too much.” I take four of the bills and offer the rest to him. “I’ve only worked for you for a week.”
He groans but doesn’t take the money.
“I only plan on needing you for a month. Lucy blurted out twenty thousand dollars as your rate. Twenty thousand divided by four weeks is twenty-five hundred dollars. That’s what I paid you.”
I stare at the bills, trying to process what he’s telling me. “You gave me this much on purpose??”
“Well, I don’t know that I would’ve given you so much. But according to Rex and Lucy, I need to quit being such as tight-ass with money.”
I’m stunned. I shake my head, unsure what to say. What is there to say to your boss, that you’ve made out with twice, to convey your total and utter gratitude for your paycheck?
I unbuckle my seat belt, throw my arms around Cole’s neck, and give him a tight hug. “Thank you. You really don’t know how much this means to me.”
“God, okay. Okay!” He leans away and makes a face. “Christ. Put your damn seatbelt back on.”
I squeeze him tighter for a beat, then I move back to fasten my seatbelt once again. Cole is looking at me warily, as though I’m a rabid dog wandering around his yard.
My phone chimes. Three times long, two times short. I pull out my phone and see that I have a new match.
Is this the day that my long-haired, hippie prince finds me? Sure, my prince’s timing could be better. I’m involved in a flirty, sometimes make out, sometimes brood relationship with Cole. But if Prince Charming is right around the corner…
Apparently not, because Cole clears his throat. “I think we should get some things straight.”
Slipping my phone into my coat pocket, I fold the bills up and tuck them away in a zippered pocket of my purse.
“About what?”
“About the… uh… mistake I made the last time I saw you.” He looks straight ahead, his hands gripping the steering wheel as this topic is going to drown him and it’s his life preserver.
I decide not to throw him another lifeline. “I’m going to need something more than that.” I feign confusion. “What mistake?”
