Page 10 of With a Cherry On Top

Chief?That fucking idiot can’t even spell, can he?

“Yeah. I am. That obvious?”

She chuckles under her breath. “Seasoned users know they don’t need to scapegoat their cat to call.”

“I’m not...” Throwing a glare at Mollie, who’s currently sprawled over the table and playing with a wad of balled up paper, I roll my eyes. “Anyway, I should?—”

“Let me guess,” she says, settling on one hip and looking at the camera. Her long, wavy red hair slips down one shoulder and onto the white duvet. I don’t think it’s a wig, but what do I know. “You’re too old for me. You’re a good guy, and you can’t fathom paying for someone to get you off. Or you’re married, and your wife would kill you if she found out you called. Or maybe it’s that you have a little girl and you can’t help but picture her here instead of me, a testament to where you went wrong raising her.”

Damn.Am I that predictable?

“Uhhh . . .”

“Which one is it?”

“A little bit of everything, actually,” I admit.

“Ah, yes. The three-for-one guilt combo.” Her nose wrinkles at the tip. “I love older men. Most women do, you see, because men our own age are several years behind us in maturity. As for your wife, well, you wouldn’t be here if you could get what you need from her.” She seems thoughtful for a moment. “And your little girl...if she, all grown up, told you she wanted to work in the adult entertainment industry—that it’s her dream and what makes her happy—would you stop her?”

Well, I would fucking try.

“Is there anything wrong with enjoying performing for others?” she asks as she lowers one strap of her nightgown, baring her shoulder. The movement is hypnotic, my eyes following every inch of its descent. “Anything wrong with enjoying money? Fame? Sex? Desire?”

“No, of course not.”

“If you knew that she was perfectly safe,” she continues as she lowers the other strap, revealing another freckled shoulder, “and that she was thriving, would you stop her?”

Sadie’s defeated expression earlier today in the car comes back to me. “No. I’d do anything to see her happy.”

The woman grins. “Let me ease your concerns then. There’s a button on my screen. It reads ‘Leave.’ If I should click that, the call would end instantly, no questions asked. I’d be given a chance to file a report on you, and you wouldn’t be able to rate my performance or get your money back.”

I listen with rapt attention. Her voice is sultry, sexy. Low, like she’s whispering straight into my ear.

“And if you were found to be in violation of the Terms and Conditions—trust me, it’s easier than you think—you’d be kicked off the platform. If you weren’t, I’d be able to block you and never see you again.”

She straightens, gripping the edge of the mattress. “TOP values its performers more than its customers.”

“G-good.” Even so, I’m not sure I can go through with this. Maybe I could donate the money on my card to her—or would she interpret that as an act of pity?

“And as you can see,” she says as she turns the camera around and shows me her room. “I’m not exactly strapped for cash. I’m not here because I don’t have a choice. Hell, I still live at home.”

She shows me the flatscreen TV mounted on the wall and the thick, expensive-looking carpet under her California king bed. But what really catches my eye are the sketchbooks stacked on the desk, a half mannequin draped in fabric, and colored pencils and markers spilling out of a container.

She must be an artist.

An artist who, judging on the dexterity with which she goes through her speech, has given it many times before. With the easy confidence she emits, it doesn’t feel like I’m talking to a full-blown pornstar like Jewel. Just a...woman.

But none of it really matters, does it? She’syoung. Barely legal, I assume. “How old are you?”

“How old do you want me to be, Chief?” she says with a sneaky little smile before tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Please, don’t—don’t call me that.”

“What should I call you?”

“Aa—” Nope, not a smart idea. “I’m not sure.”

“How about I tell you my age, and you tell me what I should call you?”