Audra
"DP Enterprises, Derrick Pierce's office, this is Jamie, how can I help you?" Jamie questions as she answers the phone.
She gets an evil grin on her face.
Oh hell.
"I've been given the green light to tell you this. Derrick Pierce is no longer taking calls from the previous skanks he banged. You were a one-nighter. Move on already, you clinger!" Then Jamie hangs up.
I stand there gaping, then a laugh bubbles up out of me. "How long have you been answering the phone like that?"
Jamie smiles. "Since the day you agreed to the Dating 101."
"But that's months ago."
"They keep calling. I asked permission to be disrespectful to the clingers. Derrick wasn't around, but Mark said to go for it. So I'm going for it."
"Oh God. Does Derrick know?"
"The first time he heard it, he looked much the same as you just did. Now, he claps and laughs."
"Wow," I mouth more than speak. "So, tell me."
She frowns. "No."
"Aw, come on, Jamie. Don't make me get creative," I threaten teasingly.
She points at me. "Don't even think about it."
"But—"
"He's not Derrick," is all she says.
"No, he's not, but I think he's tired of the single life now, too," I tell her.
She shakes her head. "I'm not going there. It's not my style. I'm old fashioned. If a guy is interested in me, then he needs to step up."
"It's 2020, Jamie."
"I don't care. It's how I am. Besides, I've got a date with Luke tonight." She wiggles her eyebrows. "Dinner and maybe some casual sex."
"Did someone say sex?" Mark asks as he walks up.
I laugh. "Jamie did. She's got a hot date tonight."
Mark frowns. "Do I know him? Can he be trusted? You know how some guys are, drugging women or forcing them to do things."
Now I frown. "What's going on?"
"Someone hurt Greta," Jamie says softly.
Mark's baby sister. Oh God.
"Oh, Mark. Why didn't you say something? Is there anything I can do?" I ask, walking over to him and hugging him. We've become pretty good friends over the five months Derrick and I have been together.
He hugs me back. "There's nothing. She's staying with me for now, seeing a therapist, and I've hired a tutor until she's ready to go back to school."
"Are you sure there's nothing?" I ask.
