Page 99 of Boyfriend of the Hour

I grinned. “Sounds good to me.”

I followed him out of the office and down to the main floor, which was lit a bit darker now as the staff got the place completely ready for the evening.

“Stage sets are usually three songs,” Kyle said. “Most of the girls working the games do at least one per night, on top of serving drinks. That all right, honey?”

I looked down at my knee.

“Nothing fancy,” he assured me. “I just need to know you can move. It don’t take much.”

This was probably a terrible idea. But suddenly, it didn’t matter as I walked up to the stage—a long platform scattered with poles that wound through the center of the room.

“I guess she’s ready,” Kyle said with a laugh as he took one of the leather chairs near the stage. “Any song you want?”

I drew a hand down the pole, then back up. I wasn’t super experienced with this form of dance, but I’d taken a few classes out of curiosity a couple years back. Enough that I thought I could come up with something simple, mostly favoring my good knee.

Hell, my body was itching to move.

“Cardi B,” I said. I figured if I was going to do this, I was going to do it right. “‘Money.’”

Kyle chuckled. “You’re aiming high, girl. I’ll give you that.”

But by that point, I no longer cared about anything he had to say.

The room was empty. There was no one else but me up here. And I was going to make the stage mine.

I turned on my good knee, wrapping myself around the pole like a kitten around a stranger’s leg. The pounding piano chords vibrated across the room. And that was all it took.

I was already a dancer when I got on that stage. But the second I grabbed that pole, I became something else entirely.

EIGHTEEN

COURSES ON A TASTING MENU

#1 Amuse boosh. Also wtf is that??

“You can do this,” I whispered to myself. “It’s just another part.”

Four days, two shifts at Diamonds, plus my regular shifts at Opal later, I stood outside the blue-doored entrance of Per Se on Friday night. The shopping center at Columbus Circle was yet another New York semi-landmark I’d never entered, and it was clear walking through it that it was yet another place for people who made more in one day than I’d ever hope to earn in my life.

At least I had a little extra cash in my purse. Clutch? Baguette? I honestly didn’t know what to call the little gold thing hanging from my wrist. It barely held my phone, ID, and what was left of the wad of cash I’d made this week.

I’d served two full shifts, and both had gone well. Kyle had promised to bring me on to serve at his game nights with Rochelle. That was apparently where the big money came in. Meanwhile, I could continue serving at Diamonds any other night I liked.

It wasn’t the greatest work in the world. The customers were handsy, my knee was sore after too many simple yet taxing twists on customers’ knees, and I had to give almost half of what I’d made back to the house at the end of the night. But the extra money had paid for a classy soap manicure like my sister-in-law Nina preferred, plus a blow-out at a swanky salon near Nathan’s apartment. I’d also had my eyebrows threaded, watched about a dozen YouTube videos on table settings, and felt about as prepared for tonight as I could be.

Deep breaths, I told myself. Just like you were about to go on stage.

I pulled at the hem of the silk dress, so dark green it was almost black, that slithered down to my knees, revealed my shoulders with a demure boatneck, and showed a hint of leg through a slit that ran only a few inches up one thigh. My jewelry was simple. I’d traded the hoops and costume jewelry for the gold studs that had first pierced my ears at ten, paired with the simple gold chain and St. Mary medallion I’d received for my confirmation. More YouTube tutorials produced a simple French twist that was a lot harder to achieve than it looked and clean makeup instead of the dark liner and lash extensions I probably would have chosen on my own.

If this was another performance, then my character was the ingenue making her debut in high society. But the conservative fit somehow made me feel more naked than anything I’d worn on stage. Even at Diamonds.

And this little dinner with Nathan’s colleagues was only a dress rehearsal for the gala I was supposed to attend with his entire family in another few weeks.

I opened the clutch and pulled out the little red book Nathan had given me. On the sixth page was the first list I’d written for tonight.

Things to do at dinner as Nathan’s pretend GF

1. Think before you speek. dont talk about shit you dont understand.