Then his cocky grin returns from wherever he’d lost it. “Okay, I’ll be more direct; would you be my date for the weekend, Jasalie Gordon?”
Holy shit.“Why me? Why the hell would you pick me? How about Natalie, your girlfriend?” I fire back.
“Natalie’s not my girlfriend.” Dylan’s eyes flash with an emotion I can’t read before he shuts it down. “Why you? Because I want you to be my date. And I’ll compensate you for your efforts.”
What the fuc—
“I’ll have half the twenty-five thousand wired to your bank account by tomorrow and the rest at the end of the weekend.”
I cannot be hearing him right. He’s offering topayme?
“Are you fucking serious?” I glare at him. “You want me to be your escort?”
“No!” His hand catches my wrist as I start to storm off. “Jasalie, that didn’t come out well. Look, I want to take you on a date this weekend, disregarding the charity and your financial dilemma, but you turned me down. Several times. This would be a win-win for both of us. The bonus would be that I get to spend time with you, and maybe you’ll see I’m not such a bad guy. This conversation obviously isn’t endearing you to me, but I’m hoping your feelings will change.”
I tap my foot and look out again at the mountains. Out where it’s safe and Dylan Wild isn’t pursuing me with a fervor the likes of which I’ve never experienced.
“I don’t date clients,” I finally say. “Even potential clients.”
And I don’t date celebrities. Really, I shouldn’t be dating at all right now because I’ve proven I can’t even handle a rebound. That date I went on last month after Joel and I broke up was disastrous. It still gives me the creeps to remember that guy. He was clingy and pushy, and I was so not into him. I was out of there within the hour, and yet he’s called me three times since then. Me and dating are definitely not compatible right now.
But twenty-five thousand dollars.
To have the answer to my prayers be within reach is so tempting. And all I’d have to do is spend time with someone I’m going to be seeing all weekend long, anyway. I know Bill would approve. Hell, he’d probably be answering, “Heck, yes, she’ll do it,” right now if he were here. But I can’t. I can’t take Dylan’s handout just to save my mother. I haven’t spoken to her since I was four. That would be so irrational.
Before I can figure out how to tell him no, he reveals why he’s so talented on the football field—no matter the blockade, Dylan Wild always figures out how to move the chains.
“Lilla tells me you’re from here,” he says slowly.
I tap my foot on the pavement, already sensing where this is going. And right now, I want to kill Lilla because she clearly handed Dylan his trump card.
I try to bluff. “So?”
He never takes his eyes off me. “So I’d like a tour of Tucson. How’s tomorrow?”
I tighten my jaw. Of course I can say no. And under any other circumstances, I would. This guy is clearly comfortable pulling out all the stops to get what he wants. Beyond the added fact that I don’t know any more about Tucson than he does.
But I know my boss. Bill will find out about this because that’s just who Bill is. He’s like a paparazzo that way, or a gossip girl. And Bill will absolutely deny me the promotion if he thinks I did anything less than everything for our potential client. He already practically told me to proposition the owner, for God’s sake. This is nothing in comparison. I could maybe have gotten away with turning down the escort idea, but this…Bill won’t like it if I reject Dylan’s request. Plus, at least it’s all in public. I’ll take Dylan on a quick tour of the city, and that will be that. But then there’s the rest of his deal.
“So tomorrow I take you on a tour, and if we don’t kill each other by the end of the afternoon, I agree to fake date you for the rest of this event?” I can hardly believe the words are coming out of my mouth. My jaw’s still struggling to work from when it dropped open at his offer.
“Look, you’ll get what you need so you can help out your friend, and all those kids will get what they need. All you have to do is hang out with me for the next few days. Romantically in public. In private, that’s your call. But just so we’re clear, no strings either way.”
I swallow and make eye contact with him again. His gaze is focused and determined. But something else is in his face—a depth that I can’t help wanting to know more about. I lean closer to him without planning to, but as soon as I do he shuts down his expression, and the openness in his eyes disappears.
“No pressure.” He shrugs like his attempt to blackmail me is suddenly no big deal. “We’ll just spend some time hanging out. It’ll be fun. Get to know each other a little.”
Get to know each other a little. That could work. After all, Dylan Wild can’t possibly be as perfect as he looks. It’s not possible. Everyone has flaws. And once I can actually see what his are, this ridiculous spell I seem to have fallen under will be broken, and I can return to my boring but predictable life with my two cats in Los Angeles and never think about him again.
I look up at him, something I’ve never had to do before with a guy. He’s got to be at least six feet four. Just makes the idea of spending tomorrow with him all the more interesting.
I make my decision. “Fine. We can fake date. But I pick the sights. And I don’t want you paying me a thing until after we go out tomorrow. I want the choice to back out if I decide things between us are unpalatable.”
The corner of his mouth turns up. “Deal. Shall we meet out here then? By the beautiful mountain view at eleven a.m.?”
“Sure.” So he likes the mountains. That’s not a point against him, unfortunately.
“Cool.” He glances at my phone in my hand, and before I know what’s happening, it’s in his hand, and he’s punching in some numbers. “That’s my cell. In case you ever need it. I just texted myself so I have your number, too. See you, Jasalie Gordon.” He leaves me standing outside, staring at the mountains.
