“Damn, I forgot.” My please-hire-me pitch to Piper this afternoon threw me for a loop. “I can do it right now.”
“I’d rather hear your voice. I suppose I should’ve done a video call so we’d have the best of both worlds.”
“You sound tired.” I have a sudden vision of him setting his alarm clock to wake up this early just so he could talk to me.
“I am,” he admits. “Been working all hours, in and out of meetings, handling endless stacks of paperwork. Almost fell asleep during a conference this afternoon.”
“Poor baby,” I coo, and he huffs out a laugh. “I know something that’ll wake you up. Why don’t you tell me what you’re wearing.”
“I’m not wearing anything, love.”
I swallow hard. “You sleep naked? Isn’t it cold there?”
“I have thoughts of you to keep me warm.”
I cover my mouth to smother a laugh. “Best line ever.”
He chuckles, and I can picture him shaking his head. “Not a line when it’s the truth. Before I went to bed tonight, I—”
My phone beeps with an incoming call. Who the hell is calling me this late? I check the display and see Piper’s name. “Shit. I’m so sorry, that’s my other line, and it’s something that might be important.”
Hugh sighs softly. “It’s all right.”
The phone beeps again. “I’m sorry. You have no ideahowsorry.” I think I was finally about to learn the fine art of phone sex. “Can I call you back?”
His low laugh in my ear makes me wonder if I should ignore Piper and see where this conversation leads. “I suppose I should try to get back to sleep. We’ll talk again soon, yeah?”
“Definitely. Good night, Hugh.”
He says goodnight and I switch over to the other line, but it’s gone dead. I wait a minute to see if Piper will call back and when she doesn’t, I call her.
“I’m so sorry, Ivy. I wasn’t paying attention to the time and didn’t realize it was so late. Were you sleeping?”
“Don’t worry about it, I was just on the other line. Is everything okay?”
“Well…” She inhales sharply and I squeeze my eyes shut. She’s calling to tell me she’s going to hire someone else, and she wants to let me down easy. “I was just wondering if you’d be available to come into the store tomorrow after work so I can show you the ropes.”
My eyes pop open. “Wait, I’m hired?”
“You’re hired.”
“Oh my god, Piper, thank you! Thank you, thank you. I promise I’ll be the best damn employee Pied Piper Books has ever had.”
Her answering laugh is a mixture of happiness and relief. “I don’t doubt it. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon, okay?”
I hang up and toss the phone on the bed, then pick up Fiddlesticks and smother her with kisses. She allows this for a minute, then squirms out of my arms and runs to the end of the bed. I hop up and dance around my room, feeling wide awake now as I shake my booty and bust out several moves that should have stayed in the ’90s. Fiddlesticks watches me warily, her eyes slitty. I’m sure she’d make a break for it if my bedroom door were open.
“Oh!” Remembering my earlier promise to Hugh, I drop my pants and kick them aside. Approaching the bed slowly, hands in the air to show I come in peace, I pluck my phone from near where Fiddlesticks sits. She relaxes a bit, despite continuing to keep a watchful eye on me as I approach the full-length mirror inside my closest door.
I snap a couple of pictures of me in my underwear. Then, feeling extra naughty—probably from the adrenaline coursing through me—I lift my shirt, fisting the material at my chest so only the curved undersides of my breasts are visible.
When I’m happy with the shot, I attach it to a text message and type:A little something to tide you over. Will you call me tomorrow if you have a chance? I have big news. Xoxo
