Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 145(@200wpm)___ 116(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 145(@200wpm)___ 116(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
For a brief minute, I debate making a dash for the front door. But what good would that do? He’d probably just haul me right back in by the nape of my neck, so I take a deep breath and follow him into the living room before sitting on a sofa.
Jared shoots me a meaningful look.
“Can I get you a drink?”
“Um, no, thanks, I’m okay,” I squeak. “I had a lot of juice with Vivi earlier.”
OMG, I sound so insipid! Ugh, I wish I could kill myself right now. But Jared merely grins before taking a seat in a large leather chair and steepling his fingers. His handsome face is calm and there’s not a hair out of place. Meanwhile, I know I look like a wild mess, and beads of sweat are already beginning to form uncomfortably at my armpits. Oh god, oh god.
But Jared doesn’t seem to notice. He stares at me a bit longer, those blue eyes caressing my form.
“So,” he says.
“So,” I squeak in return.
He cocks his head.
“I’ll admit I was surprised to open my front door and find you of all people standing there,” he drawls. “Were you surprised?”
I nod quickly. “I want to be very clear. I was not stalking you. I work for the babysitting agency and I’ve been employed by Child Mine for a while now. You can check with them. I swear it’s true, and I had no idea that it’d be you tonight.”
Jared grins.
“No, I don’t think you’re a stalker,” he drawls. “But yeah, it was a surprise.”
I nod quickly. “Trust me, I feel exactly the same way. New York has so many people, but honestly, sometimes it feels like a small town. It’s weird, right? What are the chances? But honestly, it’s totally fine,” I continue beginning to babble again. “I won’t tell them, and you won’t either, right? Because now you know about my… um, secret life,” I tell him in a rush. “And I need both of my jobs, so please don’t report me or anything.”
Jared’s eyebrows shoot up. “They would fire you?”
I shrug, blushing.
“I don’t know. I think the babysitting agency would definitely fire me for working as a hostess. Sanctum? I’m not so sure, but I don’t want to risk it.”
He nods, his blue eyes going thoughtful.
“Marcy,” he begins slowly. “The last thing you need to worry about is me letting the cat out of the bag. After all, you also know about my secret life too.”
I nod. “Yes, but our circumstances are different. You’re a client. You live in a big townhouse and obviously have a lot of resources. How would they even fire you? Meanwhile, they could replace me with another girl just by snapping their fingers.”
He nods.
“I suppose that’s true, but you don’t have to worry. Your secret’s safe with me. You can relax.”
“Oh.” The small sound escapes my lips. “Thank you.”
But Jared decides to press his advantage.
“I am curious, however, about how long you’ve worked at Sanctum. Months? Years? Decades?”
I suddenly feel shy about my side hustle. “Well, decades would be a little too long, seeing that I’m in my twenties. But it’s been a few years now. Probably about two and a half.”
Jared nods slowly.
“Really. I find that interesting.”
Now it’s my turn to cock my head at him.
“But why?”
He shrugs.
You’re a gorgeous woman, sweetheart,” he muses, “so I don’t understand why you need Sanctum. I’d imagine there are tons of guys lining up to date you.”
I swallow hard, appreciating the compliment but feeling compelled to explain myself. “Well, the thing is,” I begin before taking a deep breath and meeting his eyes. “Sanctum pays me a lot of money to be a hostess. I don’t mean to sound shallow, but it’s the truth, and I need the funds.”
Jared shifts in his chair, still assessing my curvy form.
“But do you like what you do? Wouldn’t you rather just see men casually around the city? Get taken out on nice lunches and dinners? I’m sure some of them would be happy to pay you, even informally.”
I shake my head and smile gently.
“No, because dating in this city is a total nightmare. Either the guys are lame or they’re crazy. And a lot of the guys I’ve quote unquote ‘dated’ claim they want to be wild, but they’re not really. They’re very vanilla when it comes down to it.”
“Wild, huh?” Jared drawls, grinning. “Wild as in belly dancing?”
I giggle, a soft flush creeping over my skin as I relax a little.
“Yes, exactly that. Most guys think that wild is going to dinner and a show afterwards where girls shimmy and shake while waving veils around. But at Sanctum, it’s different. At Sanctum, we both know that belly dancing is showing a girl how big you are down below, and then watching as her belly bulges.”