Page 12 of Men or Paws

I held up my fist. “Quiet. It’s ringing.”

Josh leaned closer, his head practically touching mine so he could listen to the conversation. I sighed and tapped the speakerphone button.

“Calling to insult me a little more?” Rocco answered. “Or did you suddenly develop the skills to become my acting coach?”

I winced. “I did say you had nice hair.”

“True,” Rocco said. “And you like my butt.”

I sighed. “I didn’t say I liked your butt. I said it appeared to be firm.”

“I believe you said it was impressive, but I doubt you called to talk about my assets.”

“Very astute of you.”

“You called to grovel,” Rocco said. “Fine, let’s hear what you’ve got. Make it good.”

I shook my head. “Get over yourself. I’m not going to grovel. I’m calling to apologize for the misunderstanding and accept your job offer.”

“And what makes you think the job is still available?” Rocco asked.

My heart sank.

I hadn’t thought of that.

“You found somebody else already?” I asked, surprised since it hadn’t been that long since we talked.

“No, but I could have,” Rocco said.

I let out a frustrated breath. “You’re unbelievable.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It wasn’t.”

Josh mouthed the wordsbe niceto me.

I waited for Rocco to say something else, but there was only silence.

Josh shrugged, looking more confused than me.

According to my phone, our call was still connected.

“Hello?” I said. “Are you there?”

“I’m here,” Rocco said. “That was what we refer to in my world as a dramatic pause.”

“In my world, that was a complete waste of time. Quit torturing me. Do I have the job or not?”

“Yes.”

I froze. “Really?”

Josh pumped his fist in the air.

“I’m obviously a masochist,” Rocco said. “You start tomorrow morning at eight. Don’t be late. My assistant, Marcello, will send over an employment contract and the NDA shortly. See you tomorrow.”

He hung up before I could respond.