I smirked. “Three minutes ago.”
CHAPTER TWO
Shell was reciting a monologue. Lucky for her, I was used to my clients rambling nervously, their words toppling over one another until I felt my head start to ache. So while my hot tea turned to ice, I let her talk, let her get every damn thing off her chest.
“And then my cat started getting sick, and we couldn’t figure out what was wrong.”
Gentle nod.
“I’m so upset with my mom! She never told me I was pretty!”
Pat on the hand.
“Do you think I’m pretty?”
Aw-shucks look followed by a wink.
“It just makes me so angry. The way guys ignore me like I’m some sort of nerd. If I knew how to wear lipstick, I’d freaking wear lipstick! I just, for once, want the hot guy to notice me.”
“I completely understand.” I needed to pick up my dry cleaning in about ten minutes, and she was going longer than I’d originally projected.
“I know.” Shell sighed helplessly, her posture making my entire body itch to strap her upright to the chair and put a book on her head. “I just wish . . .”#p#分页标题#e#
You know what I wish? That we could go back in time and I could reschedule her as a client for my wingman, Lex. Damn, she’s a talker.
“Stupid, huh?”
Shit. I dropped the ball. What did she wish? “I don’t think anything you say is stupid.” Blanket statement.
She grinned.
Nailed it.
“Th-thanks.” She grinned again. “You know, you’re a pretty good listener.”
They always forget they pay me to listen. Always.
Shell’s eyes zeroed in on my mouth. Oh, here we go. Had to admit, she was moving through my playbook stages a lot faster than I’d anticipated.
“You’re really . . . hot.”
“I know,” I said in a bored tone. “But remember, you’re my client. I’m helping you so you can help yourself.”
Shell frowned. “So you don’t ever date your clients?”
No, because all of my clients were in love with someone else, and I didn’t have time to play the hero. I almost always created a catastrophe that their crush had to save them from, solidifying that relationship and breaking them away from whatever hero worship they had of me. It made sense, if you really thought about it. The women I dealt with were so starved for male attention that they had a hard time telling the difference between my acting and actual feelings. It’s why I always made my rules very clear.
“Never,” I said, keeping my voice crisp. “Shell, sweetheart. I’m going to e-mail you the schedule for the next week. Let me know if you have any issues, but no phone calls, do you understand?”
She nodded slowly.
“Only texts and e-mails. We don’t talk on the phone. And if you see me around campus, you don’t know me. Outside of our business arrangement, we’re strangers. And if anyone asks about Wingmen Inc. . . .”
She sighed. “I know, I know. Give them the red card with the Superman logo on the front and the giant W on back.”
I winked. Our cards were genius. They just looked like stupid Superman cards, when, really, the message was on the back. The message was always in the details people rarely paid attention to. “Great.” Standing, I held out my hand. “Seven days is all I need.”
She glanced over at the barista, who was still blatantly shooting daggers in our direction. “I hope you’re right.”
With an eye roll, I pulled her in for a quick kiss on the lips and whispered, “I’m never wrong.”
“You smell spicy.”
Aw, how cute, a compliment. Maybe I’ll only need six days. After all, one of the days was completely dedicated to learning how to stroke a man’s ego. Look how fast my little grasshopper was learning!
“Thanks.” I placed my hand on the small of her back and guided her out of the coffee shop.
“Bye, Ian.” She walked toward a red Honda and hopped in. Damn, I’d had her pegged as a green Jetta type of girl. Well, can’t win ’em all.
The minute I jumped into my Range Rover, my phone rang.
“How was she?” Lex yawned on the other end of the phone. I imagined he was probably shit-deep in e-mails, since it was two weeks after New Year’s, meaning everyone with a pulse had just created New Year’s resolutions to change their lives. “Because your waiting list is hella long, and if she’s not a good fit, I have another girl that offered to pay me in sexual favors to move her to the top.”
“Cross her off,” I barked. “If she knows how to give favors, she knows how to get her own damn man.”