“My eyes are over here, Miss Sterling,” he said. “Look at me.”
I slowly obliged, and as his eyes met mine, I was suddenly entranced and unable to focus on anything else.
“I’m not in the habit of paying people who are already in debt to me,” he said. “But since I’ve already made an exception in your case for punishment, I’ll make a second in this category as well.”
“Okay…”
“How much do you want me to pay you?”
“Enough to cover six months’ worth of expenses since I probably won’t be able to show any properties.”
“There’s no probably,” he said. “You’re banned from showing any of my listings for an entire year anyway, but I also need you to focus one hundred percent on me.”
“Okay, so…” I cleared my throat. “The same amount—six months of expenses.”
“Give me a number.” He leaned closer. “I don’t know how you live, so tell me what you cost…”
“You’re not buying me. You’re buying my work.”
“Same thing.” His lips curved into a smirk. “I still need a number.”
“I’ll need to calculate it first.”
“Can’t you do that on your phone?”
“Right.” I rummaged through my purse for it, still staring at him.
“Use it, Miss Sterling…”
“I’m trying to.”
As if he could tell his gaze was having a distracting effect on me, he walked away.
I let out a sigh of relief as I unlocked my screen.
Rent. Water. Electricity. Internet. Sewage. Phone bill. Netflix—oh no…I’m finally canceling them.
Seconds later, he handed me a chilled bottle of water before moving to a different couch.
I continued listing my expenses, feeling my eyes widen with every bill I added.
Groceries, coffee, and…How the hell have I been surviving?
“So?” He cleared his throat. “Do you have a number for me?”
A million dollars.
“Is that all?” he asked, and I realized I’d uttered that line aloud.
“I was still calculating,” I said. “I didn’t actually mean—Unless…Yes, a million dollars.”
“Okay,” he said, pulling a pen from his pocket. “One million dollars for six months of your time, and you’ll be at my beck and call as needed?”
Hell yes.“Yes.”
“Fair enough.” He scribbled something on a pad and slid it across the coffee table. “Write down your banking information and I’ll have my person handle it.”
“No, um…Can you do Cash App instead?”