Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 157032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 785(@200wpm)___ 628(@250wpm)___ 523(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 785(@200wpm)___ 628(@250wpm)___ 523(@300wpm)
“Sure.” I hand the phone to Owen. “Say hello to Grandma.”
He jumps excitedly on the spot and takes the phone from me. “Hello, Grandma.”
“What’s going on?” Jenna frowns.
“Mom can’t fly for a month because of her thrombosis.”
“Shit.”
“I know, bloody hell. She offered for me to fly him there, but that’s impossible.”
Jenna frowns. “Why?”
“I can’t be without him for that long.”
“He’ll be fine.”
“I won’t.”
“Like you have another choice. Do it.”
I shake my head. “Nope, not happening. I would rather lose my job than be without him. I can work it out.”
“It’s his grandmother. He will be safe.”
“I can’t do it.”
Owen holds the phone down. “I want to go to Grandma’s for a vacation.” He beams.
I look at him, deadpan. “We will go later. Give me the phone.”
He gets back on the phone. “I’m coming, Grandma. Mom said it’s okay,” he tells her excitedly, his eyes flickering to mine. “Yes, tomorrow.” He smiles cheekily and nods. “Yes, I will bring my swimming things.”
I roll my eyes and Jenna smiles. I snatch the phone from him. “Hi, Mom.”
“So I will see you tomorrow?” she asks hopefully.
“Mom, I love you, but no. Thanks for the offer, though.”
“Ashley.” She sighs.
“Bye.” I hang up.
Jenna puts her hands on her hips in disgust. “Ashley!”
“What?” I snap as I start to pull the heavy suitcase across the parking lot again.
“You don’t have a choice, Ash, and it will do the two of them good to spend some quality time together.”
I shake my head. “I can’t be away from him for two weeks, Jen. I would die not seeing him for that long.”
She smiles sadly and takes the suitcase from me. “Fine. We will work something else out then.”
Tears fill my eyes as I hold my little boy in my arms at the airport. It’s Friday morning and I am about to fly home to LA without him for the first time. After agonizing over it for a whole eight hours, I had to concede that I had no other choice but to fly Owen to my mom’s. Yesterday we made the trek here, and today I fly home without him. This is my worst nightmare.
“You be a good boy for mommy,” I whisper.
He smiles excitedly and I turn to Mom. “Please ring me the instant he needs anything.”
“I will.”
“I can be on the next flight.”
“I know, darling.”
I bend to Owen. “I will call you every morning and every night, and if you want to speak to me, you just tell Grandma and she will call me straight away.”
He smiles excitedly. He couldn’t care less. He’s just excited to be at Grandma’s.
“You better go, love.” Mom smiles.
I frown and bend to squeeze Owen in my arms. Maybe this isn’t a good idea. I don’t care about work. “Oh, I don’t know,” I whisper to Mom.
“Go,” she mouths. “We are fine.”
I nod, and through tear-filled eyes, I watch her lead my son away as he waves happily. I walk through security on autopilot and take a seat at the bar while I wait for my flight.
This is the worst week of all time. To save my job, I’ve had to leave the most important person in my life. What kind of a parent am I?
“What will it be?” The cute bartender asks.
“Can I have a vodka, lime, and soda, please?”
“Sure.”
My phone dances on the table and I pick it up. “Hello.”
“Hello, Ashley.”
I frown as I try to place the voice. “Hello.”
“This is Eliza from the club.”
My eyes widen. “Oh, h-hey,” I stammer. Shit, am I in trouble?
“Darling, I am just ringing because I have had a special request and I thought you may be interested.”
I frown. “Okay?”
“A gentleman has requested you for an Escape night.”
“Eliza, you know I don’t do that.”
“I know and I told him that, but he was very insistent.”
I shake my head. “I’m not interested, thank you.”
“He said to tell you that it was the man you gave the lap dance to the other night.”
Wait, what?
“Wait a minute.” I pause as my brain tries to catch up. “It was the man I was talking to when I saw you?” I ask.
“Yes.”
I stay silent.
“It’s very weird, actually, because he specifically asked me to tell you his name. Which I have never had before from a client.”
“What is it?” I whisper.
“His name is Cameron Stanton.”
“What does he want?”
“He wants a night with you… alone.”
My heart starts to race. “When?”
“Tonight.”
11
I frown. “What?”
“I said, he wants a night alone with you… tonight.”
“Where?”
“In one of our Escape apartments.”
What the hell?
I don’t know whether to be flattered or horrified. Does he want to see me because he wants to see me, or does he want to pay to have sex with me so he can treat me like the hooker he obviously thinks I am?
“I’m sorry, Eliza, but can you tell him that I’m not a prostitute for sale, and make sure you tell him in those exact words.”