Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 111732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
“I’m not saying no, but I think they supply camp counselors to entertain the kids all week, if that means anything to you.”
“I won’t feel comfortable going without my father, at least, and, hopefully, Gigi, too.”
“Okay. Whatever you say. Let’s call them now.”
“We’ll start with my father. I’ll patch him in.”
My stomach flip-flops as a ringing sound invades our call. My entire body ablaze with anticipation, I whisper, “Come on, Henry. Come through for me, man.”
Marnie’s father picks up the call and greets Marnie. When Marnie explains she’s on a call with me and that we have an important question to ask him and my mother, Henry says he’s with my mother now on his end of the line.
“Put the call on speaker phone, Dad,” Marnie says, “so Gigi can hear, too.”
There’s a short pause, followed by Henry saying, “Okay, go ahead. We’re both here.”
“Hello!” Mom chirps.
Marnie and I say a quick hello to my mother, and then Marnie says, “I’ll let Max explain the situation to you both.”
I take a deep breath and launch into the whole thing, and Marnie’s father and Mom both react with amusement and astonishment. In the end, they both say they’d be more than willing to come, except that Henry’s just booked a little getaway for them to nearby wine country for next week.
“Could you change the dates for your getaway?” Marnie asks. “This would really mean a lot to Max. It’s a huge opportunity for him.”
Butterflies release into my stomach. Marnie didn’t have to say that. But it feels amazing that she did.
“Uh, yeah, I’m sure I could,” Henry says tentatively. “Is that okay with you, Gigi?”
“Absolutely,” Mom says. “I’m always game to help Max with anything, and family camp actually sounds really fun.”
After thanking them, I say, “I’ll request you two have your own cabin right next to ours. My colleague brought her wife and her wife’s parents to camp last year, and I think that was the set-up for them.”
Our parents pepper us with a flurry of excited questions, including asking us for the multi-billionaire’s name so they can google the hell out of him, but I interrupt them fairly quickly to say, “We’ll talk more later. Marnie and I need to iron out the rest of her conditions now.” After we’ve said our goodbyes and disconnected the call, I ask Marnie, “Okay, what else?”
“You need to promise to move heaven and earth to get me a shit-ton of clients after camp.”
“Easy peasy.”
“I want to see you hustling for me, motherfucker, like your very life depends on it.”
“It does. My professional life, anyway. I can’t promise results, but I can certainly promise an all-out effort on my part. What else?”
Marnie doesn’t hesitate. “Sex. It’s off the table for us. I think it’d be too hard for me to play happy family with you by day and then bang you casually at night. I don’t want to make myself vulnerable to getting hurt, and I think that’s possible if we pretend to be in love while also having casual sex all week.”
It’s a bummer. A big one, considering we’re going to be sleeping under the same roof for a full week. Why not enjoy ourselves after everyone else has gone to sleep? I’m well past the news Marnie told me earlier today about her and my father. She’s a forty-year-old, well-traveled woman who’s never been married; of course, she’s had other dicks inside her besides mine—one of which happens to be attached to a man I know and loathe. I’m certainly no virgin myself and not entirely proud of every hook-up I’ve ever had. I get what she’s saying, though. And I respect it. She knows she’s looking for something more than orgasms these days, and, unfortunately, we both know I’m not the right guy to deliver that at this stage of my life.
“Okay, no sex,” I say on an exhale, like it’s not a big deal to me, even though it honestly pains me to say it. “What else?”
Marnie considers for a moment. “I think that’s it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Then it sounds like we’ve got ourselves a deal, Red. Hot damn.”
Marnie giggles. “Should we meet to come up with some details about our amazing relationship? You know, basic stuff like how we met and how you proposed?”
“Great idea. We should probably learn some mundane things about each other, too. Stuff like how we take our coffee. It needs to be believable we know each other really well.”
“Definitely.”
“I could come over tonight after work.”
“Perfect. I’ll feed you. I’m cooking an extra batch to take home.”
“I might be there later than dinnertime. I’ll probably have to put in some long hours today, now that I’m going to Wyoming next week. My boss said something earlier today about reassigning all my workload to other associates, and I’m guessing I’ll need to work late to ensure a smooth hand-off to everyone.”