Page 96 of Dangerous Encore

"You like me brutal." Shesmiles.

"Yeah, I do." Ismileback.

Alessandra rolls her eyes, even though she's smiling. "I have my own contingency,sweetheart."

"Oh?" Bella smooths her dress and straightens her posture. Her expression hardens. She's shifting into badassnegotiatormode.

"You have to play up the pregnancy. And the single momthing—"

"But I'm not. IhaveJoel."

"You think Alessandra cares about lying?"Iask.

"Not a lie. A careful phrasing of the facts. Your husband is always on the road. It's hard. You need this break, so you can have more time for your son to spend with his dad. Trust me, men can't say no to a single mother,"Alessandrasays.

"Is that really true?"Bellaasks.

Alessandra shrugs. "Maybe not men, but the assholes we deal with, yes. They have all this guilt about the women they fucked and threw away. You have any idea what happens to groupies who get knocked up? It's notpretty."

"I guess that makes sense." Bella nods, studying Alessandra's expression to see if she's teasingornot.

It's impossible to tell with her. There's truth to her story. A lot of the men who run clubs are great guys who just fucking love music. But a lot of them are assholes who cut corners and use the proximity to fame to fuck the women musicians discard. Those guys get quiet really fast when you mention things likechildsupport.

"And your tits. Fuck, they're going to be massive. You have to promise to wear low cut dresses every day until… no, just every day you have to see someone in person. I want those on display. I want them screamingif you get me this deal, maybe you can get a better look." Alessandra looks to me andwinks.

Bella laughs. "I can do guilt trips and low cut blouses." She looks to me. "As long as you won't get toojealous,baby."

"I might have to show up to threaten to break some legs,"Isay.

Shesmiles.

I smile backather.

Alessandra clears her throat. "Really, you two are disgusting. You'd think you were the first two people to ever haveababy."

Bella laughs. She leans in to hug her boss. "Thankyou."

"Thank you, sweetheart. I'm happy for you." Her voice is earnest, a rarity forAlessandra.

"We haven't talked salary yet,"Bellasays.

Alessandra laughs. She looks to me. "You married a smartwoman."

"No shit, Sherlock,"Isay.

"Less compliments, more numbers,"Bellasays.

Alessandra pulls a notebook from her purse and scribbles a number on it. She flashes the paper toBella.

Bella's eyes bulge out of her head. "Even when I'm part-time?" She clears her throat. "I mean, is that starting now orinMay."

"Now, but I'll keep you there when you go part-time,"Alessandrasays.

"Oh. Excellent. What about maternity leave?"Bellaasks.

Alessandra laughs. "That's out of my hands. Corporate policy. But it's generous. Twelve weeks at fifty percent yoursalary."

"That is generous." Bella smooths her dress. She offers her hand toAlessandra.