Page 26

MIA

On Saturday night, I meet Yulian again.

It’s another business meeting at the Goldenrod. This time, the night passes without incident.

I cling to Yulian’s arm like the good piece of candy I’m supposed to be, laugh politely at every bad joke, and show off Yulian’s spectacular sage dress and jewelry.

Somehow, it’s our coldest date yet.

It leaves me puzzled for the rest of the night. There was no shooting, no violence, no lecherous men pawing at his prize. I saw him shake hands, make deals, secure millions for his company.

By all standards, it was a success.

And yet, Yulian felt like a piece of ice all the way through.

We’ve gone out exactly twice more since then, all in the span of a single week. Every time, I’ve wanted to teach my soul to crawl out my body and astral project back home, with my sleeping kid and my deli lasagna and none of the thirty-plus forks that rich people dinners seem to have.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. After the text exchange, I got my hopes up.

It’s not like I expected Yulian to suddenly turn decent and renounce his life of crime, but maybe we could be…

friends? Companionable colleagues? Have a boss-employee relationship that doesn’t revolve around threats or strangely hot acts of borderline violence in alleys?

“Unrealistic,” Kallie decides once I’m done venting to her. “Repeat after me: men are pigs. Even smoking hot, GQ-stubbled men with abs of steel.”

“That’s not helping, K.”

“What’s not helping?” Eli mumbles, rubbing the sleep from his face as he walks into the bedroom. Then his eyes go wide. “ Another dress?!”

“Whatcha think?” I grin, doing a little spin. This one is lilac satin with a high neck and a wide skirt. The box it came in also held a pearl-studded waist belt and a matching purse, as well as a stunning pair of Sophia Webster ivory heels. “Good enough for a Bond girl?”

“ Duh, ” Eli gapes. “You look like a mother-freaking-princess, Mommy!”

“Now, where’d you learn that word?”

“April Labeene. Ms. Spencer at daycare makes us dance to her songs.”

“Yellow flag for the fancy daycare?” Kallie winces as soon as Eli’s out of earshot.

“Kind of, yeah.” I’m starting to think the “fancy daycare” I spent a fortune on is probably not as fancy as it made itself sound. Just ridiculously expensive. “But August’s almost over. Might as well make it count.”

“He’s starting the new school, then?” Kallie brightens. “The one Mr. Definitely-Not-A-Sugar-Daddy is paying for?”

“Okay, first: he is not my sugar daddy.” I hold up a finger, then two. “Second, I’m paying for it.”

“With his money.”

“That’s called ‘nitpicking.’”

“And that’s called ‘denial.’” She sits me back down on the bed and pulls up a chair across from me, rummaging through my makeup purse for anything resembling lilac. “Now, hold still while I beat your face.”

“I’m pretty sure that qualifies as grievous bodily harm.”

“Only if I make it look ugly.” She topples the purse on the bed. “Christ, it’s like an expired eyeshadow cemetery in here.”

As Kallie—metaphorically—beats my face, I list in my head all the reasons she’s wrong.

Yulian is my new side-boss. That’s all this is. The rules are clear on that: nothing is going to happen. No hugs, no kisses, no dancing the horizontal tango in luxury hotels.

Just stunning dresses, daily selfies, personal security, expensive dates, a shit ton of cash, and— oh.

Oh, no.

“I’m not his sugar baby,” I repeat, though this time it’s more for my benefit. “He’s paying me for a service.”

“The service of being pretty in front of his peers?”

“Yes!” I blurt. “And I hate it!”

“You’re right,” she says flatly. “I see how wrong I was now. You’re definitely not his sugar baby.”

“Thank y?—”

“If anything, you’re his salt baby.”

She fastens my new pearl necklace around my neck. I grimace at the cool weight of it against my skin. If I put together the price of everything he’s sent me this past week, it’d probably add up to more than my advance.

God. What if Kallie’s right? What if I am a sugar baby?

“He doesn’t want anything from me,” I sigh, frustrated with myself. Frustrated with my best friend for always seeing right through me. “Not—not like that. ”

“You could sound less sad about it.”

“I’m not? — !”

“Also, dude, I’d totally tap that ass. If I could. Like, if I was into girls and you weren’t my best friend and shit.” She dabs a little blush on my cheeks. “You can’t tell me Mr. Matching Lingerie hasn’t thought about your assets . The stuff he sends you? Straight from the spank-bank.”

I cringe. I’d been trying not to think about the matching lingerie part. “He’s probably just obsessive,” I blurt. “Doesn’t want a random gust of wind to ruin the perfect picture he’s painting.”

“Oh, he wants to paint something, alright. With his thick, wooden brush.”

“You are so?—!”

“Done,” she interrupts.

I stand up and walk to the mirror.

My jaw falls.

It’s nothing like when I do it. The hues blend seamlessly together, complementing my skin without looking gaudy. Even though Kallie used bold colors to match Yulian’s choice, including a purple lipstick I haven’t worn since my goth phase, I look…

“Beautiful,” she whispers. “You look beautiful, Mimi . ”

I turn to Kallie. My best friend, my ride-or-die, the one who’s always there for me. Who’s been there for me ever since we were ragtag roommates in a moldy shoebox apartment, one pregnant, the other orphaned.

We’ve been clinging to each other for so long, I can’t even think about how painful it would be to let go. How cold it would feel.

“Thank you,” I rasp. “It’s incredible.”

“ You’re incredible.” She smiles sweetly. “And if he doesn’t wanna bang you after this, I can introduce him to Reese.”

“ Kallie! ”

Then the doorbell rings. It’s Boris, warning me to come down if I don’t want to be held in contempt for Criminal Lateness.

I hug Kallie goodbye. “Text me if anything comes up, okay? Anything at all.”

“Don’t worry,” she says. “The most adventurous thing that can happen tonight is a Skyfall rewatch. With popcorn, if we’re feeling daring.”

“Popcorn?” Eli pokes his head in from where he was playing in the hallway. “Can we have it, Aunt Kallie? Please, pleeease?”

I kiss Eli goodnight, grab my new purse, and run like the wind.